MSU Earth Month
Mon, April 1, 2024 12:00 AM - Tue, April 30, 2024 11:59 PM at various location across campus
Join an action-packed month ahead this April to celebrate Earth Month with plenty of opportunities to Be Spartan Green!
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Be Spartan Green and embrace sustainable actions in your daily life. Take the MSU Sustainability Pledge. |
Join fellow Spartans by supporting the people and programs building a more sustainable future at MSU & beyond. |
Don't miss the Earth Bash at the MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center! Save the date for 4/13! |
Happy Earth Month! Participate in Earth Month activities for a chance to win a prize!
Throughout the month of April, participate in Earth Month events and activities. Keep an eye out for code words, which will serve as one entry for a chance to win a $50 gift card for the MSU Surplus Store.
Code words will be posted at select events as well as on the MSU Sustainability social media channels. Collect code words and submit them individually using this form for multiple entries.
Submit your code words by 11:59 pm on April 17, 2024. The winner will be notified on April 18, 2024.
Earth Month Calendar
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The MSU Science Festival, celebrated annually throughout the month of April, is a free annual celebration of science, fueled by some of the basic elements essential to scientific inquiry: curiosity, wonder, and discovery. The 12th annual science festival returns in person this year with over 200 events to enjoy. |
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Roots So Deep Film Screening and Carbon Cowboy Dinner April 2, 6:30 - 8:30 pm @ Brody Hall Enjoy a screening of the film Roots so Deep, which features inventive farmers and maverick scientists building a path to solving climate change with hooves, heart and soil. Guests can enjoy an optional pre-screening dinner at Brody Square with food from a local producer and stay after for a panel discussion that will include the film’s director, Peter Byck. Guests must RSVP for film screening. |
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Introduction to Gardening Workshop April 3, 1 - 2 pm @ Virtual Learn about the basics of gardening in this virtual workshop with experts from the Greater Lansing Food Bank's Garden Project. Guests must register to attend. |
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April 4, 7 - 8:30 pm @ MSU Library Our relationship to food here at MSU is changing. Look around and you will see long lines for “grab and go” or Combo-X-Change meals while the dining halls have far fewer patrons. The plastic waste generated by this trend is staggering. Meanwhile, whole, freshly harvested, organic food from the MSU Student Organic Farm is more and more seen as less desirable because it takes longer to prepare. We invite you to join the conversation about this national trend on college campuses to unpack the consequences of our food, and to look at alternatives to re-envision the role of student farms. Guests are encouraged to register. |
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April 3, 12 - 1 pm, meet @ Beal Garden pond No, not that kind of weed – stinging nettle! Though they’re often known for their eponymous “stinging” sensation when touched, nettles are also a nourishing ingredient for herbal tea. Join the Beal Botanical Garden and MSU Museum to learn all about the history and lore around stinging nettles, try safely harvesting the plant, then enjoy a cup of freshly brewed nettle tea. Offered as part of the MSU Science Festival. |
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Red Cedar River Clean Up April 5, 12 - 2 pm @ The Rock MSU Infrastructure and Planning Facilities is hosting the Red Cedar River Clean-up. This event will start at The Rock and will be open to all faculty, staff, students, and community members. |
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Natural Areas Spring Wildflower Walks April 5, 3 -4 pm @ Sanford Natural Area Join Beal Botanical Garden to explore the Campus Natural Areas as they come alive for spring! |
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April 5, 4 - 6 pm @ Makerspace Flex Space Classroom Upcycle and decorate a used container to create a beautiful planter! Learn how to plant your seed with fertilizer from the MSU Grow Green Vermicompost Program. Grow your own basil plant from our Seed Library! Registration is required. |
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Spartan Upcycle Friday: Lincocut Stamps Carve and Print April 5, 12 - 4 pm @ Surplus Store and Recycling Education Center Carve up a strip of linoleum however you desire to make a unique stamp then roll them with ink and create prints on paper, cards, and more. The linoleum was sourced from the free area at the Surplus Store. It is used in campus buildings as the baseboards. Feel free to exchange prints with other crafters. Take home your stamps, and reuse. |
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First Fridays for College Students: eARTh Night April 5, 7 - 9 pm @ MSU Museum First Fridays are night at the MSU Museum for college students! Join us for special activities related to a different theme each month. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! |
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Dig In! Help Root Out Invasive Plants at Baker Woodlot April 6, 10 am - 12 pm @ Baker Woodlot Join the Beal Botanical Garden to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the campus arboretum by giving Baker Woodlot some spring love! Participants will learn all about this important work and help remove woody shrubs, vines, and herbaceous invasive plants such as garlic mustard. Meet Plant Recorder, Carolyn Miller, by the Baker Woodlot entrance on Farm Ln. This work day is being presented in conjunction with MSU Science Festival. |
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Sustainable Spartans Campus Trash Pick Up April 7, 1:30 - 2:30 pm @ patio of Wells Hall Sustainable Spartans is hosting a trash pick up. The group will meet at the patio of Wells Hall (outside where the Starbucks used to be). Teams of 4-5 people will be created and will have an hour to pick up as much trash as possible. Anywhere on campus is fair game. The team that picks up the most trash will win dairy store ice cream! Trash bags and gloves will be provided. Come on your own or with your team already formed! |
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Pack Up. Pitch In. Begins April 8 and runs through end of move out The SLE Sustainabilty office is looking for interested individuals to help with collecting and packing non perishable foods from the residence halls during finals week. We are using McDonel Hall as a staging areas to store the food to be packed. To volunteer the week of 4/22-29/2024 please visit this site. |
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ASMSU Environmental Education Fair April 9, 4 - 7 pm, MSU Union Ball Room (second floor) Come out for an evening of sustainable activities and learn about ways to be Spartan green. There will be food, giveaways, games and crafts, and a chance to win a $50 gift card to the MSU Surplus Store. |
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Wellness Wednesday: Spring Epheremals April 10, 12 - 1 pm, meet @ Beal Garden pond Spring ephemerals, plants that bloom for brief periods of time in the spring, provide much-needed food for native bee and bird species and hint at warmer weather to come! Join the Beal Botanical Garden and MSU Museum to learn about the first signs of spring as we take a guided walk through the Garden in the fresh spring air. This is a free program, but please register in advance for planning purposes. Offered as part of the MSU Science Festival. |
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April 10, various dining halls across campus Select dining locations on campus will offer blended burgers. Held during Earth Month, the initiative is designed to create and offer a more sustainable and tastier burger by blending beef with fresh mushrooms. The Blended Burger Project™, a movement that strives to make the iconic burger even better for your customers and for the planet by blending at least 25% fresh mushrooms into your burgers, was initiated four years ago by the James Beard Foundation. |
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Indigenous 4 Sisters Gardening Workshop April 11, 10 am - 2 pm @ Beal Garden and Student Organic Farm We invite you to grow with us at the Indigenous 4 Sisters Gardening Workshop hosted by Beal Botanical Garden, the Native American Institute, RISE, and the Student Organic Farm. Mikayla Thompson (Cherokee Nation descendent) will be sharing 4 Sisters history, methods, and related stories. This workshop is the first in a series that will culminate in enjoying the bounty of our harvest in the fall. We begin our day at Beal Botanical Garden and will travel to the Student Organic Farm in the afternoon. This is a free workshop open to participants on and off campus, but please register in advance. |
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Beal Botanical Garden Tour: Our Strategic Plan in Action April 11, 12:10 - 1 pm, meet @ Beal Garden Shed Join us for a lunchtime tour of the Beal Botanical Garden to learn about programmatic and physical changes to Beal Botanical Garden Beal from Interim Director Dr. Alan Prather. The audience will be introduced to our new strategic plan and how we will be using it to help us illuminate the connection between people, plants, and place. Offered in collaboration with the MSU Library. |
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Natural Areas Spring Wildflower Walks April 12, 1 - 2 pm @ Sanford Natural Area Join Beal Botanical Garden to explore the Campus Natural Areas as they come alive for spring! |
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April 12, 2:30 - 3:30 pm, Multi Purpose Room in the Minskoff Pavilion The Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership in the Broad College of Business is hosting their first ever Sustainability Debate. This Debate will be a head-to-head competition where students will compete in presenting affirmative or opposing arguments on a chosen question for the year within the ESG domain.
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April 13 Community service is an integral component of the student experience at MSU. Spartan Days of Service is a perfect way for students, groups of friends or organizations to get involved and make an impact in the local community. Projects are open to all students and include transportation, a light breakfast, a bagged lunch and a t-shirt for the day. There are opportunities for everyone to get involved and make a difference! |
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April 13, 12 - 4 pm @ Surplus Store and Recycling Education Center Just us for a family-friendly event focused on reducing waste by practicing the principles of a circular economy. Tour the recycling center and vermicompost hoop house. Get creative with Spartan Upcycle. Freecycle clothing and books. Learn how and why to do a home waste audit. Engage with other campus groups, and more! This event is generously sponsored by the MSU Office of Sustainability. Additional partners include MSU Student Life & Engagement and Eco Reps, MSUVote, and select student groups. RSVP is encouraged, but not required. |
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Apple Developer Academy / NFL Info Sessions April 16, various times throughout the day @ virtual In partnership with the NFL draft team, MSU is providing an opportunity for the campus community to engage with NFL experts around five areas of impact. There will be time for audience Q&A after the initial presentation. All are welcome!
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April 18, 5 - 7 pm @ MSU Museum King Corn is a documentary that follows two best friends who move from the east coast to the heartland to learn where their food comes from. With the help of friendly neighbors, genetically modified seeds, and powerful herbicides, they plant and grow a bumper crop of America’s most productive, most-subsidized grain on one acre of Iowa soil. But when they try to follow their pile of corn into the food system, what they find raises troubling questions about how we eat and farm. Following the film, MSU Extension crop educator Monica Jean will lead a discussion on corn cultivation in Michigan. |
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Spring Garden Opening Celebration April 19, 10 am - 1 pm @ Beal Garden Join us in the garden to welcome the spring season! Explore the refreshed 2024 Nurture Your Roots rooting station content and celebrate the Campus Arboretum’s 150th Anniversary with some TREE-mendous activities. |
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Spartan Upcycle Friday: Open Craft April 19, 12 - 4 pm @ Surplus Store and Recycling Education Center Drop in and explore creative reuse and upcycling by repurposing materials sourced through the MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center. |
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Wellbeing Break in the Garden Final exams can be stressful. Reset and relax with us in the garden at noon for a week of wellbeing activities. April 23 - Amazing Aromas April 24 - Pressed for Plants April 25 - Weeds for Wellness |
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Arbor Day Beal Botanical Garden and IPF Landscape Services are collaborating on this year’s Arbor Day Celebration! We are hoping for a large campus community involvement and would like to invite you to participate. In addition to the ceremonial tree planting, we are also going to be planting 150 trees and shrubs along the Red Cedar River in honor of the Campus Arboretum’s 150th Anniversary! |
| Learn about the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals |
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