Earth Week Festivities

Posted bySustainability
Office of Sustainability

    Enhancing Educational Experiences within the Office of the Dean of the College

Earth Week is Almost Here!

Are you ready for a week of action-packed and meaningful events to celebrate and protect our planet? Coordinated by the Office of Sustainability and in conjunction with many other campus and community partners, Earth Week (Apr.17-22) will host various activities aimed at engaging the community in a week of learning, consciousness, and celebration. Make sure you check out our activity calendar below or on our website!
 
Day 1: Monday – Apr. 17
 
Activity 1: Journal and Journaling (EnAct)
Description: Students are invited to take home a free journal to write reflect on sustainability, the environment, etc.
Location: Worner Main Lobby
Time: 12:30 – 1:00 p.m.
 
Activity 2: Trash Peak (Office of Sustainability Waste Team)
Description: Help divert waste from CC’s waste streams!
Location: The lawn in front of Worner
Time: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
 
Day 2: Tuesday – Apr. 18
 
Activity 1: Planting Party (EnAct)
Description: Students are invited to grab soil, seeds, and small containers to use as pots to plant small plants in your home.
Location: Outside Worner
Time: 2:00 p.m.
 
Activity 2: Art 21 Screening: Artists Addressing Environmental Concerns (Arts and Crafts)
Description: Come watch an environmental screening of the Art 21 playlist “The World is Yours”.
Location: West Room
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
 
Activity 3: Linnemann Lecture: Communities, Food Systems, and Conservation (Environmental Studies Program)
Description: Listen to Meriwether Hardie’s talk about her work in places of tension in the worlds of conservation, food systems, and communities as she shares case studies, stories, mistakes, and successes from her experience of working with people and land.
Location: Cornerstone Screening Room #131
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
 
Day 3: Wednesday – Apr. 19
 
Activity 1: Get Your Trail Map (EnAct)
Description: Grab some trail maps for nearby hikes!
Location: Worner Main Lobby
Time: 12:30 p.m.
 
Activity 2: Sustainable Wednesday (Office of Sustainability Campus Programming Team)
Description: Play a bingo game about sustainable living habits and try to win sustainable utensils as a prize.
Location: Worner Main Lobby
Time: 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
 
Activity 3: Synergy Garden Party (Synergy)
Description: Come help celebrate community, connect with nature, learn about gardening techniques, plant care, and sustainability practices!
Location: Synergy House (1006 N Weber St – Old)
Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
 
Day 4: Thursday – Apr. 20
 
Activity 1: Vegan Recipes (EnAct)
Description: Pick up some healthy and environmentally friendly vegan recipes which can reduce your carbon footprint.
Location: Worner Main Lobby
Time: 12:30 p.m.
 
Day 5: Friday – Apr. 21
 
Activity 1: Sunrise Watch on Hill (EnAct)
Description: Come sit on the grass outside in the early morning and watch the sunrise as it lights up Pikes Peak.
Location: Hill between Cossit and Bemis
Time: 6:15 a.m.
 
Activity 2: Arbor Day (Facilities Services Landscape & Ground Team)
Description: Plant trees and flowers with peers to purposefully integrate the CC campus forest with the surrounding urban forest. Food will be provided at the event and all participating volunteers will get a FREE hat!
Location: Southwest Studies Native Garden (Mierow House)
Time: 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
 
Activity 3: Reuse Workshops (Arts and Crafts)
Description: Stop by the Arts and Crafts Studio in the Worner Basement to create artwork that focuses on re-using materials.
Location: Arts and Crafts Studio Basement of Worner
Time: 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
 
Day 6: Saturday – Apr. 22
 
Activity 1: OCC Trash Fairies: Fountain Creek Cleanup (OCC Trash Fairies and Westside Cares)
Description: Join OCC Trash Fairies and Westside Cares for another fun-filled cleanup of West Fountain Creek. (Gloves, trash bags, and cleanup supplies will be provided.) Register Here!
Location: Vermijo Park (Old Colorado City)
Time: 9:00 – 12:00 p.m.
 
Activity 2: BreakOut – Partners in Housing (Collaborative for Community Engagement)
Description: Join the Collaborative for Community Engagement (CCE) to help Partners in Housing with some outdoor work at one of their properties. Register Here!
Location: Meet Outside of the CCE, destination Colorado House (Partners in Housing)
Time: 10:00 – 12:00 p.m.
 
Activity 3: Earth Day Extravaganza (EnAct and Sunrise Movement)
Description: Join Sunrise and EnAct for an afternoon of food, art, phone banking, yard games, and an open mic to celebrate Earth Day at Hybl!
Location: Hybl Community Center (East Campus) 
Time: 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Last Chance for OOS Applications
Hurry! Time is running out to apply to be an intern for the Office of Sustainability next year as Handshake positions will close in less than five days on Apr. 16. The OOS will host six intern teams next year: Administrative Assistants, CC Exchange, STARS, Emissions Team, Waste, and Communications. Along with individual duties for each team, student employees are asked to lead a volunteer team, attend weekly one-hour team meetings, meet with the Sustainability Coordinator once a block, and engage with the Campus Sustainability Council.
 
If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to our Sustainability Coordinator Mae Rohrbach at mrohrbach@coloradocollege.edu.

Emissions Team Greenhouse Gas Technical Report


Toward the end of every academic year, the Office of Sustainability’s Emissions Team releases an annual Greenhouse Gas Technical Report.

Emissions Team member Erin Mullins ‘24 says that this report outlines CC’s emissions, how they have changed from last year, the sources of emissions, and an overview of CC’s carbon offsets. One key figure from this report spotlights Colorado College’s impressive 54% decrease in gross emissions from 2008 to 2022! “This year’s emissions figures demonstrate Colorado College’s ongoing commitment to sustainability. We continue to maintain our institutional carbon neutrality,” says Emissions Team member Holden Maxfield ‘25.

Great job Tigers! Look for the full report to be posted on the OOS website during Block 7.

Material Recovery Facility Tour Recap
The Office of Sustainability thanks everyone who came out to attend the Sense of Place Material Recovery Facility Tour (MRF) on Apr. 5. This behind-the-scenes tour explored where CC’s recycling goes after it leaves campus. CC students, staff, and faculty learn about the importance of properly recycling their waste and how recyclables find a new life after they go into the bin. “The MRF Tour is one of my favorite Sense of Place programs because it provides valuable information and serves as a tangible demonstration of how important it is to properly place your recycling materials in the correct stream,” says Sustainability Coordinator Mae Rohrbach.
 
Stay tuned for our last newsletter of the year next block to hear our recap of the Central Plant Tour, which will take place on Apr. 18.

CC Exchange Pop-Up Event

Looking to do some spring cleaning? Join the Office of Sustainability for another CC Exchange Pop-Up Event at the Hybl Community Center Main Space today, Apr. 11, from 1-4 p.m. Bring items you no longer want or need and pick out some new ones! You can find a list of acceptable donations here. We hope to see you there!

CC Clubs

Sunrise Movement: Are you interested in becoming more involved in climate activism? If so, join the Sunrise Movement! As a national, youth-led, climate activism organization that advocates for political action on climate change, the Sunrise Movement has worked on rallies and informational workshops for bold climate action. They are currently working with the Colorado College Board of Trustees to divest CC’s endowment from fossil fuels and build environmental coalitions on campus. The group is open to everyone and meets every Tuesday from 5-6 p.m. in Tutt Library Room 105.
Reach out to s_mirick@coloradocollege.edu with questions or for more information.

EnAct: Would you like to create a deeper and more personal connection to the surrounding environment? Then you should join the EnAct club! EnACT club Co-leader William Lewis ‘24 who works alongside Co-leader Eve Gutheinz ‘23, says that EnACT’s main objective is to “deepen personal connection to the surrounding environment to promote active engagement in ongoing local and national social change initiatives.” The club has recently been focused on restarting and gaining core members, as well as establishing some key events that they can repeat on a regular basis, such as nature walks on first Tuesdays at 2 p.m. and movie nights, typically during the second or third week of each block. The club has meetings on the first and third Monday of each block at 12:15 p.m. in the Office of Sustainability, located at 1004 N Weber St.
Reach out to w_lewis@coloradocollege.edu with questions or for more information.

CC Student Farm: 
Do you want to get hands-on with the environment? Join the CC Student Farm club! 

“The Colorado College Student Farm intends to create an active space of ecological and community sustainability, based on land stewardship through intentional engagement with small-scale, hand-powered agriculture. We hope to plant vegetables and fruits, build community through farming, educate students on agricultural practices and land care techniques, and provide a space for everyone interested in engaging more with the land their food comes from. The Student Farm will be a place for everyone, especially those with little experience, to interact with the environment and their food in a positive and engaging way, with tangible produce for students to consume,” says Kai Matthiasson ‘24, CC Student Farm Club Chair. Matthiasson notes that some key club accomplishments this year have been the consistent improvement of the land and soil health, helping students understand the farm to table process, and having grown a crop of lettuce that was donated to the CC Pantry. The club meets on Sundays and Fridays from 1-3 p.m., though the timing is subject to change based on weather conditions.

Reach out to k_matthiasson@coloradocollege.edu with questions or for more information.

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