Happy Earth Day! Planet vs Plastic with plastic bottle graphic
Earth Month Events 2024!

This year's Earth Day theme is "Planet vs. Plastic!" There are loads of ways to get involved in and around campus this April.
Check out the schedule below! It will be updated as the month progresses. 

Multi-Week Events

Jan 16th - Apr 19th:  The Goldstein Museum of Design’s latest exhibition, The Soil and The Story, celebrates Black Soilship in the Black Belt by highlighting 12 farms researched in the last three years across Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

Tuesday, April 2nd

7-8pm: Climate Lit for Educators Workshop, hosted by the Center for Climate Literacy

Thursday, April 4th

9:30-10:30am: Climate Resilience & Infrastructure Coffee Chat

10am-2pm: UMN Environmental Justice Summit

12-1pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative

3-4pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Coffman Memorial Union Room 103A

Monday, April 8th

10am-4pm: Bell Museum Solar Eclipse Celebration

12-1pm: Sigurd Olson Lecture Series: Wild California & the Antiquities Act. In-person

Tuesday, April 9th

12-5pm: Nutritious U Pantry is open!

3-4pm: Online Webinar – What Would a Bioethics for Agriculture and Food Applications of Cryopreservation Look Like? with Paul Thompson, PhD.

Wednesday, April 10th

12-5pm: Nutritious U Pantry is open!

Thursday, April 11th

8:30am-12:30pm: The Rights of Nature vs. Human Rights? Struggles for environmental, racial, and gender justice in Colombia, Ecuador, and the U.S. Hosted by the Humphrey School. In-Person or livestream available.

12-1pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative

3-4pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Coffman Memorial Union Room 103A 

Friday, April 12th

8:30-11:15am: Speaking Science

11:30am-5pm: Institute on the Environment's Sustainability Symposium

Sunday, April 14th

12:00pm: Trash Pickup with SESB Sustainability student group - meet outside McDonald's in Identity Dinkytown

Wednesday, April 17th

9-10am: Climate Resilience & the Environment Coffee Chat

5:30-6:30pm: Humphrey School of Public Affairs – Advancing Climate Solutions. Now. with Sanda Ojiambo. In-person or virtual. 

Thursday, April 18th

5-7pm: Global Health Day hosted by the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility

12-1pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative

3-4pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Coffman Memorial Union Room 103A 

Friday, April 19th

3-4pm: Third Annual Earth Day Fest, hosted by the Center for Climate Literacy (virtual)

Saturday, April 20th

9am-12pm: Bee Run Walk Cleanup at Boom Island Park

9:30am-12pm: City of Minneapolis' Earth Day Clean Up. (Multiple sites). 

10am-2pm: Bell Museum Spotlight Science: Art + Ecology

10am-3pm: The Great Minnsect Show: Minnesota Insect Show. North Star Ballroom, St. Paul Student Center.

Sunday, April 21st

12:00pm: Office of Sustainability Stormwater Clean Up Event with Campus Cleanup Crew - stay tuned for location details!

Monday, April 22nd: Earth Day! 🌎

9:30-10:30am: Climate Resilience & the Campus Community Coffee Chat

12-1pm: April Science Seminar at Institute on the Environment & the Midwest Climate Adaptation Center.

Tuesday, April 23rd

12-5pm: Nutritious U Food Pantry is open!

Wednesday, April 24th

12-1pm: People & Planet: Takeaways from the Fifth National Climate Assessment. Virtual event.

12-1pm: What's Good for You is Good for the Planet: Webinar on climate & health

12-5pm: Nutritious U Food Pantry is open!

Thursday, April 25th

12-2pm: Keystone Foodmobile: Mobile Food Shelf at CTC

12-1pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Commonwealth Terrace Cooperative

1-3pm: Arbor Day Tree Planting with the UMN Dept of Forest Resources

3-4pm: Nutritious U Free Meals at Coffman Memorial Union Room 103A 

4pm: College of Science & Engineering A.O.C. Nier Lecture

Friday, April 26th: Arbor Day! 🌳

9am-6pm: Arbor Day at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum 

2pm: 2024 Larson Allmaras Lecture featuring Sylvie Brouder, PhD. 335 Borlaug Hall

 

If you're hosting an Earth Month event that you'd like listed here, contact us.

All Sustainability News
UMN Winter Salt Use

Facilities Management’s Landcare team is the primary snow removal service provider for the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, responsible for clearing nearly 100 miles of streets and walkways, and over 100 acres of parking surfaces. Learn more:

We're HIRING! Systemwide Student Sustainability Communications Assistant

We're hiring a systemwide student communications assistant! Learn more or Apply now!

12/1 Coffee Chat: Energy Efficiency 101

Join our speaker from the Great Plains Institute, Aaron Backs, to learn more about all things energy efficiency!

Register now!

Clean Energy's Powerful Momentum

The U.S. energy transition is arriving faster than you think. But the move toward solar is global: a recent study from Nature expects solar to be the cheapest source of electricity in almost all countries by 2027. Along with its arrival, clean energy prices are expected to become cheaper than fossil fuel options. 

Read more

Talking climate-ready forests with U of M

Trees are showing their spectacular fall colors across Minnesota. This year, the changing leaves have come early due to the stresses of ongoing drought. Drought, flooding and higher temperatures associated with climate change are all factors prompting University of Minnesota experts to think about the future of our forests.

Extension Educator Angela Gupta answers questions about the future of MN forests Read More

UMN Releases New Apple Variety

A new variety of apple has been released by the University of Minnesota apple breeding program. Named Kudos, this new apple will be available to the public in coming years. 

Read more about the new Kudos apple here. 

11/3 Coffee Chat: Electric Vehicles 101

Join our speakers from Drive Electric MN, Alejandro Nakpil and Moaz Uddin, to talk about the benefits of EVs, the current market, and climate impacts. Learn more and Register!

Living Lab Applications Now Open!

The Office of Sustainability's Living Laboratory program is BACK! Living Labs seek to transform otherwise unused space on campus into opportunities to learn, research, and innovate sustainability on campus. Applications are now open to students, staff, and faculty. Learn more and apply here.

UMN Graduate Student wins U-Spatial Grand Prize for Stop the Thud! Map

U-Spatial has awarded prizes in nine categories, including a Grand Prize of $1000 to Andrew Hallberg's StoryMap, "Stop the Thud!".

A graduate student in Conservation Sciences, Andrew has created an interactive map tracking bird-building collisions at the UMN Twin Cities campus through "Stop the Thud!", a citizen science based recording system.

Check out Andrew's story map for more information and data and look for Stop the Thud! signs around campus to help continue this project!

University Employees Now Eligible for the Employee Transit Pass (ETP)!

Employee U Cards are now Employee Transit Passes (ETPs)! All Twin Cities benefits-eligible faculty and staff will receive unlimited access to all transit systems in the Twin Cities metro area! 

Learn more