Campus Community Celebrates Earth Week

05.06.2019

Campus and community partners organized interactive and educational events for the 2019 Earth Fair.

UT Dallas’ eighth annual Earth Week events highlighted sustainability and environmental practices.

The Office of Student Volunteerism and the Office of Sustainability coordinated with campus and community partners to organize interactive, educational events.

Eco-Rep Julia LaFond, a McDermott Scholar, helps install a beehive.

“This year’s Earth Week gave students the opportunity to learn about organic vegetable gardening, explore green building features, and serve as citizen scientists. I hope everyone gained a deepened sense of environmental stewardship and is inspired to take action,” said Mackenzie Hunter, director of the OSV.

The Office of Student Volunteerism’s Aaron Koehler and Mackenzie Hunter wave their butterfly wings during Earth Fair.

A new event was the BioBlitz competition, where participants used the iNaturalist app to identify flora and fauna on campus.

Other highlights included the first-ever zero-waste Earth Fair on campus, the Operation Upcycle project of recycling plastic bags into jump ropes, and the Butterfly Flutterby planting of 800 milkweed plants.

Mitali Shenoy helps with milkweed planting to attract pollinators during the Butterfly Flutterby.

Students also participated in free gardening workshops, heard faculty present sustainability research and watched a screening of the EarthX Movie “Youth Unstoppable,” with a Q&A with the filmmaker.

–Robin Russell

Students made sustainability pledges as part of Earth Week.