With April celebrated as Earth Month, the Office of Sustainability and its partners offer many different opportunities to engage around campus. Events will include a special breakfast with maple syrup from sap collected on campus, open hours of the Shineman Greenhouse, Arbor Day activities, workshops and more.

Earth Month began as a means to combat leaded gas use, significantly increasing the global impacts of pollution on all living organisms. Appreciation for the natural environment and all organisms happens in every season, but this month offers an opportunity to go outside and share in the wonderful sights of spring with friends and family.

Earth Month events include:

  • Tuesday, April 18, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. 176 Shineman Center:
    Marine Sanctuary and Involvement with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Join NOAA and various community partners, including the H. Lee White Maritime Museum, to work with others on education, research and tourism initiatives as part of the development of the proposed Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary.  

  • Friday, April 21, 3 to 4 p.m., 142 Marano Campus Center
    Eco-Anxiety Workshop

Join Counseling Services staff to discuss the mental health implications of dealing with a changing climate.

  • Saturday, April 22, 9 a.m. to noon, Fallbrook Barn
    Maple Breakfast 

Join the Office of Sustainability and Auxiliary Services on Earth Day for the third annual breakfast featuring fresh pancakes served with maple syrup collected and boiled on campus. Tickets are $10 per person and children under five attending eat for free but will still need to have a presale ticket, available via tickets.oswego.edu.

  • Monday, April 24, 1 to 3 p.m., Permaculture Living Laboratory 
    Open Garden and Craft Workshop

Join the Office of Sustainability in the Permaculture Living Laboratory (PLL) for Open Garden and an outdoor craft workshop. Participants are suggested to bring their own cotton cloth to print on, however, there will be a limited quantity at the event.  

  • Tuesday, April 25, 4 to 6 p.m., 183 Shineman Center
    Sustainable Fishing Workshop

Participants will learn about sustainable fishing practices, how to implement those practices and where they can loan out equipment to go fishing themselves. All are welcome to attend.

  • Wednesday April 26, 4 to 6 p.m., meeting at the Marano Campus Center Welcome Desk
    Shining Waters Campus Cleanup

Join the Office of Sustainability and the Office of Community Services and Civic Engagement for a campus-wide cleanup. Dress appropriately. 

  • Thursday, April 27, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Fallbrook Recreation Center Sugarbush
    Mushroom Workshop

Join the Office of Sustainability to learn and inoculate mushrooms at our Maple on Tap Sugarbush! Van transportation to the event will be provided from the Marano Campus Center Welcome Center, departing at 2:30 p.m. Use this link to register for the event. 

  • Friday, April 28, 5 to 6:30 p.m, Waterman Theatre 
    “ReDress the Red Dress”: Observing Red Dress Day

In advance observation of Red Dress Day on May 5, the Native American studies program with many multi-departmental co-sponsors will host 2022 graduate Chelsea Maldonado to hear her writings and spoken word performance recognizing settler colonial violence, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women violence against women, and the intersections of social justice and racial healing. 

Arbor Day events

Arbor Day on Friday, April 28, offers a variety of programs, including:

  • 11 a.m. to noon: Arbor Day Tree Planting and Maintenance, Centennial Arboretum

Six new tree species will be planted in the arboretum with several trees being adopted by SUNY Oswego fraternities and sororities, dedicating service to their newly adopted trees. The Centennial Arboretum is located at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Sixth Aveneu behind Lonis Hall. 

  • Noon to 1 p.m.: Arbor Day Observance Reading at Rice Creek

Right after planting the new trees, the Arbor Day Proclamation will be read by SUNY Oswego Officer in Charge Dr. Mary C. Toale at the Rice Creek Field Station. Transportation to Rice Creek as well as parking at the field station will be limited. Carpooling and utilizing the Centro Bus Green Shuttle and other forms of transportation are encouraged. 

  • 1 to 2:30 p.m. Rice Creek Arbor Day Speaker Series 

Rice Creek will host three speakers both in-person and online. For more information about the speakers, check out this calendar item.

  • 2:45 to 5 p.m.: Tree Giveaway sponsored by Canal Forest Restoration Project

Several varieties of native trees will be available for participants to take home and plant in celebration of Arbor Day. 

Throughout the month, the campus community can learn more about what’s growing in the Shineman Center Greenhouse through open hours Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. and 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9 to 10 a.m. and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. 

In addition, work related to the Bird Strike Prevention Project, coordinated by senior zoology major Brooke Goodman, will be evident as paracord netting goes up on the large windows of the Marano Campus Center food and activity court.

Events throughout the month are in collaboration with or hosted by several departments and groups including: Counseling Services, Native American Studies, the Office of Community Services and Civic Engagement, Auxiliary Services, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rice Creek Field Station, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Oswego Tree Stewards and more.

For more information, visit the Sustainability events calendar.