Union will celebrate Earth Day – actually, an entire week – with a range of programming, from a sustainability film screening and festival on Hull Plaza to a community cleanup day.
Created in 1970, Earth Day is observed worldwide on April 22 each year to raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire actions to preserve and protect the planet’s natural resources for future generations.
Following is the schedule of events for Union College Earth Week 2025:
Monday, April 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The week kicks off with tabling and games on the lawn outside Reamer Campus Center with a number of campus sustainability and environmental groups.
Monday, April 21, 8 p.m. The Film Club will screen a campus sustainability film in Reamer Auditorium.
Tuesday, April 22, 4-6 p.m.: Education, connection, food and music mingle at Earth Fest, to be held outside the library on Hull Plaza (rain location is Old Chapel). The event is organized by U-Sustain and co-hosted by the Office of Sustainability. It provides an opportunity for some 25 environmental and sustainability groups to talk about their initiatives and goals.
Participating campus groups range from A More Equitable U, Beekeeping Club and Engineers for a Sustainable World to Octopus’s Garden, Ozone House, Union College Dining, Union Pride and WRUC.
Community groups include Audubon Society, Cornell Cooperative Extension, ECOS (the Environmental Clearinghouse) John Boyd Thacher State Park, Schenectady Environmental Education Center, Schoharie River Center, Upper Union Neighborhood Association and VIA Aquarium.
Thursday, April 24, 5:30 p.m.: “The Tree of 40 Fruit and the Open Orchard,” a program with Sam Van Aken, a Syracuse-based artist and art professor, will take place in Old Chapel. Van Aken is known for crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on communication, botany and agriculture. He has mastered the art of grafting, a craft that allows trees to grow multiple kinds of fruit. The event is sponsored by the Kelly Adirondack Center, UCALL, U-Sustain and Octopus’s Garden. It is free and open to the public. Coffee and dessert will be served at 5 p.m.
Friday, April 25, 12:50-1:50 p.m.: An Arbor Day handprint tree featured in the Wold Atrium display case is an interactive art project that invites individuals to add their handprint.
Saturday, April 26, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: The Kenney Center and Union chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, the national service organization, are sponsoring a volunteer Earth Day Cleanup project with the Goose Hill Neighborhood Association. The event centers around Steinmetz Park (2114 Lenox Rd, Schenectady). It includes cleanup routes in the park and along roadways, as well as a satellite location in the neighborhood east of campus along Rugby Road hosted by the Boulevard Appreciation Neighborhood Association.
“We are really excited to continue this Union College tradition of co-hosting the cleanup,” said Ben DeAngelis, Kenney Center assistant director. “It’s a joy to see hundreds of students participate in shifts throughout the day, alongside faculty, staff and community members.”
Sunday, April 27: Octopus’s Garden is leading a trip to a permaculture garden in Canaan, N.Y. The trip is currently full, but there is a waitlist. Permaculture gardens are designed to mimic natural ecosystems, fostering a sustainable food production system.
Sunday, April 27, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: The Schenectady Greenmarket will hold a community Earth Fest at J Square, a green space located across from City Hall on Jay Street. U-Sustain President Anthony Clement '25, an environmental science and policy major, worked with Cornell Cooperative Extension to invite local organizations to share resources and promote environmental efforts.
"Success with this year’s Earth Week programming is the result of great work and dedication from many groups on campus and in the broader Schenectady community,” said Grace Hotopp, Union's sustainability manager. “We’re very grateful for the support and priority given to sustainability on our campus.”
To stay up to date on Earth Week and related events, go to the Office of Sustainability’s Instagram page, @unioncollegesustainability, or reach out to Hotopp at hotoppg@union.edu or sustain@union.edu.