Earth Week 2025

Elon University’s Earth Week, held April 21-27, invites students, faculty and staff to reflect on their habits and explore their impact on the environment. With a variety of events and activities, Earth Week fosters awareness, dialogue and action toward a more sustainable and equitable future.

EARTH WEEK COMPETITION

Attend as many events as you can for your chance to win! First, second and third place winners will be determined by those who attend the most events throughout the week. There will be one set of student winners and another set of faculty/staff winners.

PRIZES

First Place: $25 Phoenix Cash, hammock, sustainability prize pack (beeswax wrap, t-shirt, water bottle, utensil kit, straw, reusable bag)
Second Place: hammock, sustainability prize pack
Third Place: hammock

Monday, April 21

5 – 6 PM | FROM SQUIRRELS TO SONG BIRDS: DATA ON ELON’S BIRD SPECIES | MEET IN GLOBAL COMMONS, FIRST FLOOR

Join Elon Data Nexus and Senior Lecturer in Statistics Dr. Ryne VanKrevelen on a walk around Elon’s beautiful campus to learn about Elon’s bird species, tools to help collect your own bird data, and what to do with it in day-to-day life. Dr. Dave Gammon, Professor of Biology, will  talk about how scientists use bird data. Sponsored by Elon Data Nexus

Tuesday, April 22

4 – 5 PM | SUSTAINABILITY MASTER PLAN 2025 LAUNCH CELEBRATION | MCKINNON HALL, MOSELEY CENTER

Celebrate the launch of Elon University’s Sustainability Master Plan 2025 with food, interactive activities and exciting prizes! Learn about Elon’s goals for a more sustainable future, connect with others and discover opportunities to support sustainability at Elon. This event is open to all students, faculty and staff.

6 – 7 PM | FLY INTO SPRING | ELON COMMUNITY GARDEN

Join the Environmental Student Organization Network at the community garden to make bird feeders out of sustainable materials like pine cones and toilet paper rolls. Everyone is welcome!

Wednesday, April 23

5:30 – 7:00 PM | FOOD FOR THOUGHT |THE CENTER FOR RACE, ETHNICITY AND DIVERSITY EDUCATION  (CREDE), MOSELEY CENTER 221

Join us for Food For Thought: a monthly event where we explore different Asian & Pacific Islander cultures, communities, and personal experiences. This month’s FFT will explore Pacific Islander culture with Hawaiian food! We will also explore environmental issues in the Pacific Islands.

7 – 8 PM | EARTH WEEK KEYNOTE: BILL MCKIBBEN, “THE RACE FOR A WORKING CLIMATE: WHAT NOW?” | ALUMNI GYM, KOURY ATHLETIC CENTER

We’re at a hinge moment in human history. On the one hand, we face an environmental cataclysm like none before. On the other, the rapid fall in the price of clean energy gives us the chance for truly rapid progress. In this urgent, heartfelt and hopeful talk, New York Times bestselling author Bill McKibben reveals the part each of us must plan in where we need to go and provides realistic approaches to saving our planet, as individuals, and as thoughtful members of a mobilized community.

McKibben was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 2014, sometimes called the “alternative Nobel” and received the Gandhi Peace Award in 2013. His book “The End of Nature” is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change and has been translated into 24 languages. TIME Magazine called McKibben “perhaps the planet’s best green journalist,” and he has lectured and organized on every continent, including Antarctica. He helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and has recently helped found Third Act, to build a progressive organizing movement for people over age 60. McKibben, the author of fifteen books, is the Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Sponsored by the Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Studies Department, Facilities Management, Food Studies, the Global Neighborhood, the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Life@Elon and Peace and Conflict Studies

9 – 10 PM | S’MORES WITH OUTDOORS | BECK POOL PATIO

Join Elon Outdoors and the Eco-Reps for a special Earth Week S’mores with Outdoors! Make your own sustainable bug spray so that you can enjoy more time outdoors.

Thursday, April 24

5 – 7 PM | PARTY FOR THE PLANET | MOSELEY WEST LAWN

Celebrate sustainability with fun activities and live entertainment! This event will also feature a thrift shop where students can trade their gently used clothes for new (gently used) clothes.

Friday, April 25

3:30 – 5:30 PM | PAINT N’ PLANT | YOUNG COMMONS

Join us to design your own plant pots out of reusable jars and cans with the opportunity to take different plants home to grow for yourself! We’ll learn about minimizing waste, sustainable agriculture and reusable products, as well as work with Loy Farm to grow our own native plants!

4 – 5:30 PM | BLOOM WITH PRIDE | ELON COMMUNITY GARDEN

Join the Gender and LGBTQIA Center to Celebrate Lesbian Visibility Day through bouquet making and flower vase decorating.

To prepare for this event, the GLC is currently accepting donations of clean glass jars, bottles, and cans! Please bring any donations to the GLC.

4 – 6 PM | BIKE TO BURLINGTON | MEET AT KOURY CENTER | REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Meet in front of the Koury Athletic Center and join Elon Outdoors and the Office of Sustainability for a bike ride to Burlington, where we’ll enjoy some ice cream while learning about local businesses and how they contribute to sustainability. Bikes will be provided, or bring your own.

Saturday, April 26

SUSTAINABLE DAY OF SERVICE (VARIOUS TIMES AND LOCATIONS)

Sustainable Day of Service Opportunities include:

9 AM – 11 AM | Lake Mackintosh Kayak Clean Up | Registration Required
Take care of local Lake Mackintosh while enjoying the beauty of nature. Kayaks, gloves, and trash bags provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty and bring a reusable water bottle and sunscreen.

9 AM – 11 AM | Peacehaven Farm | Registration Required
Join the CORE members and participate in a Garden Workday!  You will be outside so make sure you wear close-toed shoes and bring a water bottle

12:30 – 3:30 PM | Women’s Resource Center Herb Festival Clean Up | Registration Required 
Help the center with the clean up after the festival! This won’t require heavy labor but is some physical work.

1 – 3 PM | Lake Mackintosh Kayak Clean Up | Registration Required
Take care of local Lake Mackintosh while enjoying the beauty of nature. Kayaks, gloves, and trash bags provided. Please wear clothing you don’t mind getting dirty and bring a reusable water bottle and sunscreen.

Sunday, April 27

11 AM – 4 PM | CAROLINA FARM STEWARDSHIP ASSOCIATION FARM TOUR  |  MEET IN FRONT OF CENTER FOR THE ARTS | REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Visit three local farms to learn about food production in Alamance County and try some local foods along the way!  Transportation provided.