On Friday, April 22, the University of Notre Dame will celebrate the 46th anniversary of Earth Day with events and activities to engage the campus community in celebrating the natural world and being good stewards of our common home.
The celebration starts early with seed packet giveaways on all campus shuttle routes. Each shuttle will have flower seed packets that riders are invited to take home and plant. The flowers that bloom will help support natural pollinators across Michiana.
Throughout the day Campus Dining will be offering Earth Day food and drink specials in campus eateries and dining halls. Specials will feature local and veg-centric options, including roasted squash strudel, vegan carrot cake, and bison burgers. These have a smaller environmental footprint than many traditional offerings and allow Notre Dame to give back to the Michiana community by buying local.
Campus Dining works to discourage waste and encourage the reuse of cups every day with a .25 cent discount for reusable cups in most campus eateries. In honor of Earth Day, the discount will be doubled to .50 cents per drink.
During the lunch hour the campus community is encouraged to get out of their offices by attending one of two free outdoor events:
A free yoga class will be offered at the St. Joseph Beach dock from 12-1pm. Led by a certified RecSports yoga instructor, the class is an opportunity for employees to enjoy the beauty of Notre Dame’s campus while also firmly planting themselves both mentally and spiritually.
A guided walking tour of some of campus’ best known, award winning, and interesting trees is also offered. A popular event in the past, the tour will be led by Barbara Hellenthal, curator of the Museum of Biodiversity and Greene-Nieuland Herbarium, and author of Trees, Shrubs, and Vines on Notre Dame’s Campus. Please sign up in advance for this lunch hour activity, as space is limited.
Earth Day will also include the announcement of the winners of the Children’s Sustainability Artwork Contest. Open to all young family members of Notre Dame’s faculty, staff, and students, the contest invites children to portray what sustainability means to them by submitting original artwork that focuses on the theme of “planting it for the planet”.
For more information, please see here.
Originally published by at green.nd.edu on March 24, 2016.