Earth Week 2024

BIKE TO CAMPUS DAY

-7:30 - 10:30 a.m. 
-Squires Plaza, Hokie Bike Hub, and Duck Pond gazebo

The annual Bike To Campus Day is held in coordination with other Earth Week activities to promote the use of alternative travel options to and around campus. This event is used to highlight the transportation options available to students, faculty, and staff on campus. Stations will be located around the Blacksburg campus to meet, greet, hand out small pre-packaged food items for breakfast, and inform those looking for more information about sustainable transportation on campus.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainable Transportation Programs Coordinator Matthew Barrow at mabarrow@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

ACCESS TO ACTIVISM: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WITH SIERRA CLUB

-7 - 8 p.m. 
-Torgerson 1060

Join the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter for an evening of environmental advocacy. Engage in insightful discussions and interactive activities as participants delve into the advocacy world, exploring its significance in Virginia and on a broader scale. Learn firsthand what it means to advocate for the environment and how to make a meaningful impact. This event is open to all who share a passion for protecting our environment. Food will be provided.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

Y-TOSS THRIFT POP-UP

-10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
-Newman Library Plaza

Celebrate Earth Week by receiving an eco-friendly wardrobe upgrade through reuse and upcycling.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

GREEN GRADS TABLING

-11 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
-Squires Info Booth B

Students graduating this spring that would like to wear a green cord at commencement can take the Office of Sustainability's green grad pledge to share how sustainability will be practiced after gradiation.

Pick up a free green cord at this event. Take the pledge here.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

THE BIG CLEAN

-3 - 6 p.m. 
-Squires Info Booth A

Join the Office of Sustainability in a litter pick up around the Town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. Participants will be assigned a location and be provided with gloves, trash bags, and litter grabbers. Participants are encouraged to sign up online.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

CHIA PLANT CRAFT

-5:30 - 6:30 p.m. 
-Lavery Hall room 345

Make containers for cia plants to grow in using empty plastic bottles. 

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

TRIP TO FARMERS MARKET

-11:00 a.m. 
-Meet at Squires Plaza

Meet and walk as a group over the Blacksburg Farmers Market to learn about the types of foods currently in season.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SCREENING AND DISCUSSION PANEL

-6 - 8 p.m. 
-Squires Honors Discovery Studio

Join the Environmental Coalition, Hokies Vote Caucus, and Students for Racial Justice​ for a screening and panel discussion on the documentary film "Fallout."

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

GREEN GRADS TABLING

-1 - 3 p.m. 
-Squires Info Booth B

Students graduating this spring that would like to wear a green cord at commencement can take the Office of Sustainability's green grad pledge to share how sustainability will be practiced after gradiation.

Pick up a free green cord at this event. Take the pledge here.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

PATHWAYS ON INTEGRATING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) TO CLIMATE ACTION COMMITMENTS AT VIRGINIA TECH

-3 - 4 p.m. 
-Graduate Life Center, room F

Climate Change is a global issue that requires immediate action. At Virginia Tech, we have developed a Climate Action Commitment, comprising fifteen goals to achieve by 2030. These goals include carbon neutrality, waste management, sustainability policy, single-occupancy vehicles, and institutional changes. The “Pathways on Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) to Climate Action Commitments at Virginia Tech" discussion explores leveraging diversity within the university community to fulfill the university's commitments to climate action.​

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

VIRGINIA TECH BEE DAY HABITAT CREATION AT THE VISITOR AND UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS CENTER

-1 - 3 p.m. 
-Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center main entrance

Join members of the Virginia Tech Bee Campus standing committee for our celebration of Virginia Tech Bee Day. Participants will be enhancing the pollinator habitat at the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center's main entrance by planting pollinator-friendly perennials. Come learn more about local pollinators and plant some flowers to help improve the habitat.​

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

CLIMATE CONVERSATIONS

-3 - 6 p.m. 
-Squires Info Booth A or B

Discuss climate change and the ways individuals can help mitigate it with the Citizens' Climate Lobby.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

"NO RESEARCH ON A DEAD PLANET": PRESERVING THE SOCIO-ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS FOR ACADEMIA WITH DR. AARON THIERRY

-12:15 - 1:30 p.m. 
-Zoom

Join a lecture and conversation with Dr. Aaron Thierry, one of the authors of “No Research on a Dead Planet” (Frontiers in Education, 2023), an inquiry into professors’ inaction in the face of the climate and ecological crisis that threatens the existence of higher ed institutions. Dr. Thierry examines the conditions that inhibit academics’ feelings of accountability and agency and outlines steps to activate the academy in response to the climate emergency.

Dr. Aaron Thierry is a postdoctoral researcher at Cardiff University in Wales. His first Ph.D. is in ecology from the University of Sheffield. His first postdoctoral position was studying climate feedbacks in the Arctic, after which he left academia. He is now pursuing a second Ph.D. in communication strategies for promoting action on the climate emergency. Dr. Thierry’s peer-reviewed publications include articles in Nature Climate Change, Global Change Biology, Advances in Ecological Research, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Frontiers in Communication, and Frontiers in Sustainability. Register here: http://tinyurl.com/57e6sv4y

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Sustainability Coordinator Emily Vollmer at vollmere@vt.edu at least 10 business days prior to the event.

ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION

-1:30 - 3 p.m. 
-Sterrett Center

Join the Division of Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities; Students for Sustainable Practices; and Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture in an Arbor Day 2024 celebration.

Participants will have an opportunity to celebrate Virginia Tech's urban forest by helping to plant 14 new trees in the nearby area and engage with University Arborist Jamie King. 

Participants are asked to convene outside of Sterrett Center, across from the Sterrett Center sign (by the corner of Fleet Services and the Housekeeping and Heavy Equipment trailer). Closed-toed shoes are required. Gloves will be provided. 

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact University Arborist Jamie King at (540) 231-3718 or campusarborist@vt.edu during regular business hours at least seven business days prior to the event.​