Earth Month & Garden Prom
Each year in April, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee in collaboration with departments and groups across campus, encourage action and engagement through events, initiatives and projects that focus on the urgent need for sustainable solutions.
Please join us for any and all of our Earth Month events in 2027!
Dates and event details coming soon...
Past Earth Months
Each year in April, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee in collaboration with departments and groups across campus, encourage action and engagement through events, initiatives and projects that focus on the urgent need for sustainable solutions.
Please join us for any and all of our Earth Month events, below...
Fair Trade Friday with Sustainability
Friday, April 10 | 10-12pm | Mission & Ministry Center | More info
Earth Month Special Movie Screening
Friday, April 10 | 8-10pm | Hagerty Lounge
Spring Free Store Pop Up
Monday, April 13 | 11-1pm | In Front of SAE Office
Garden Community Town Hall
Wednesday, April 15 | 9am | Legacy Garden
Foraging and Plant ID walk
Friday, April 17 | 10 - 11:30am | Meet at Cafe Louis
Gael Day of Service
Saturday, April 18 | 11-1pm | Legacy Garden
Denim Day/ Sponsored by CARE Center
Monday, April 20 | 10:30am - 12:30pm | Dante Quad
Sustainability / The Free Store will be hosting a table of denim clothing to support the event
Earth Day of Service
Wednesday, April 22 | 1:30 - 3:30pm | Legacy Garden
Spring Honey Harvest
Monday, April 27 | 2-5pm | South Claeys Kitchen
Solidarity Supper Sponsored by The Mission & Ministry Center
Wednesday, April 29 | 5-6pm | MMC Courtyard
Feel Good Friday Sponsored by The IC
Friday, May 1 | 1-2:30pm | Intercultural Center
Garden Prom
Saturday, May 2 | 3-6pm | Legacy Garden
Bike to Work/School Day
Thursday, May 14 | 8:30am | Free giveaways in front of campus
Each year in April, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee in collaboration with departments and groups across campus, encourage action and engagement through events, initiatives and projects that focus on the urgent need for sustainable solutions.
Please join us for any and all of our Earth Month events, below...
Cummins Institute Montini Lecture on Integral Ecology
Thursday, April 11 | 7:30pm | Claeys Lounge, Soda Center | More info
Fair Trade Friday with Sustainability
Friday, April 12 | 10-12pm | Mission & Ministry Center | More info
BYOMug to Cafe Louis
10% on your drink throughout April when you bring your own mug. Sustainable Saint Mary's Mug giveaways on Monday morning, April 15 | Cafe Louis
Art in the Garden with Student Disability Services & Veteran’s Services
Wednesday, April 17 | 1:30-2:30pm | Legacy Garden
Free Store Denim Table @ Denim Day (a CARE Center event - Sexual Assault Prevention Month)
Wednesday, April 17 | 9am | Dante Quad
Sustainability / The Free Store will be hosting a table of denim clothing to support the event
Beeswax candle-making workshop with pressed flowers and beeswax from our very own Legacy Garden
Friday, April 19 | 1 - 2pm | Legacy Garden
Farm Stand Grand Opening x Crafternoon (collaboration with Library)
Monday, April 22 | 3pm | Legacy Garden
Swing by and grab some SMC-grown produce and join us for some crafts natural tie-dye and/or paint your own succulent pot
Movie Screening the Lorax - Sponsored by RHA
Monday, April 22 | 9pm | Dryden Hall
Hike in the SMC Hills
Wednesday, April 24 | 2pm | Meet at the Legacy Garden
Free Store Pop Up Shop
Friday, April 26 | 12pm | De La Salle Lawn
Farm Field Trip - Charlie's Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary (sponsored by CAPS)
Saturday, April 27 | 11am (leave SMC at 10am)
Tour of Mount Diablo Resource Recovery
Wednesday, May 1 | 10am | Pittsburg, CA
Bike to Work/School Day
Thursday, May 16 | 8:30am | Free giveaways in front of campus
Each year during and around Earth Month, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee in collaboration with departments and groups across campus, encourage action and engagement through events, initiatives, and projects that focus on the urgent need for sustainable solutions. The groups have put together a number of Earth Month events, including a Global Lasallian Sustainability Dialogue, Music in the Garden, a Regenerative Fashion Show, Beekeeping and Vermiculture workshops. More details below:
Mark your calendars:
Beekeeping workshop
Tuesday, April 18th, 3pm, Legacy Garden
This 1.5 hour curated workshop will be guided by James Frankenfield and Rosalind Bassett, active members of the Mount Diablo Beekeepers Association and Lamorinda Bee Project. The workshop will cover an introduction to bees, including history and bee biology, as well as a general beekeeping overview – the handling and care for bees and a short demonstration. We'll end with some Legacy Garden honey tasting - guaranteed to be a super sweet workshop!
Music in the Legacy Garden
April 18th, 11am - hosted by Sustainability Students Leaders.
Come de-stress, enjoy refreshments, jam out to music and get your hands dirty in honor of Earth Month.
One LaSalle ~ Global Inspirations: A Shared Dialogue on Lasallian Commitments to Sustainability
April 20th, 6:00 PST | 9:00 EST | 15:00 Rome | 21:00 Philippines,
As part of this year's Lasallian Heritage Days, Saint Mary's is proud to host a panel of Lasallian Institutions throughout the world who will share their unique and innovative sustainability initiatives. We will end with a conversation around possible priorities for global collaboration. We hope you will join us! Register here.
Healthy Lands, Healthy People Panel Discussion
April 21st, 1pm, In-person & Zoom. The Contra Costa Resource Conservation District (RCD), the County’s Office of Sustainability and UCCE recently finished a feasibility study – Healthy Lands, Healthy People - to identify innovative strategies of storing carbon dioxide in our many different land uses. Join us for a panel presentation and discussion about opportunities and barriers for utilizing gardens, farms, parks, and open space to sequester carbon, produce revenue and conserve natural resources.
Lafayette Earth Day Festival
April 23rd 2023, 11 am - 2 pm
The Lafayette Plaza Park
The Free Store Hours & Pop Up Shop
Swing by the student-run Free Store during Spring Semester hours in De La Salle 105.
Back by popular demand, The Free Store in collaboration with the Women's Cross-Country Team and One World is hosting an Earth Month Running Shoe Drive. Please donate your old running shoes to the Free Store on or before April 26th.
Spring Semester Legacy Garden Volunteer Hours
Tuesdays 2:30-4:30pm
Wednesdays 2:30-4:30pm
Regenerative Fashion Week and Runway
Thursday, April 27 at 1pm.
Addressing the climate crisis with conscious consumerism and student activism
With guest artists Coco fe Coco and Joelle Provost
Saint Mary’s students will showcase pieces they have created based on a sustainable framework for fashion. The week will include a Maker Workshop with the artists and a public Regenerative Runway to feature the pieces. Coco and Joelle will host and narrate the runway. Students from JCL140 Global Justice will co-host and organize the event including creative designs, marketing and outreach, and event production.
Swing by Saint Mary's Energizer Station for free goodies and giveaways
Save the Date: Bay Area Bike to Work/School/Wherever Day is on Thursday, May 18, 2023. This year, Saint Mary's is proud to host an energizer station at the entrance of campus (Saint Mary's Road & De La Salle Drive) with free refreshments (fruit, energy bars), giveaways and the regional BTWD tote bag from 8-10am.
If commuting all the way from home to work/school seems daunting, it’s not cheating to make the distance more manageable by adding BART and the County Connection to your commute. The Saint Mary’s community enjoys free rides on the local County Connection bus service. Routes originating from the Saint Mary’s campus (#6) are free; transfers to other routes are regular fare.
Sustainable Move Out
Tuesday, May 15th - Sunday, May 21st
What is Sustainable Move Out? Throughout finals week / move out week, the Office of Sustainability in collaboration with EH&S, the Housing Office and RHA collects lightly-used, functional items to donate to local nonprofits. In an effort to divert as much as possible from the landfill, we also encourage students to recycle and compost while sorting through their move out items.
This year, we are thrilled to offer new partnerships to expand our capacity and reach! During Move Out week, Recycle Smart, Republic Services and Mount Diablo Resource Recovery will be helping sort and transport all of our donations to local resource organizations, and Goodwill will be on campus helping sort and transport donations from the Townhouses on Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What can be donated? Any lightly used, functional items - clothes, small electronics, household items, and small furniture.
- Where should I put my donated items? Large white donation bins (locations pictured below) will be placed near nine dumpsters during move out week.
- What is the last day I can donate? The last day to donate for main campus and the canyon residence halls is Friday 5/19, and Sunday 5/21 for the Townhouses.
- Where can I recycle used batteries or non-functional small electronics? Saint Mary's has several brown bins on campus to recycle small electronics: in front of the Library, first floor DLS Hall, in front of Galileo Hall, and first floor of the Business Office.
- Where can I donate food? Please place nonperishable, unopened food in the donation bins near your residence hall and we will sort them for you - the food will be donated to our local food bank.
- What can I recycle and compost? Check out Republic Services' guides for what can go in our trash, compost and recycling bins.
- This sounds fun! Can I volunteer? Yes, contact us at smcsustainability@stmarys-ca.edu to help us throughout Move Out week
Each year in April, the Office of Sustainability and the Sustainability Committee in collaboration with departments and groups across campus, encourage action and engagement through events, initiatives and projects that focus on the urgent need for sustainable solutions.
Please join us for any and all of our Earth Month events, below...
Fair Trade Friday with Sustainability
Friday, April 1 | 9-12pm | Mission & Ministry Center
Free Store Pop Up Shop
Friday, April 1 | 12pm | De La Salle Lawn
Paint the “SMC” Green & Teal for Earth Month and Sexual Assault Prevention Month
Saturday, April 2 | 10am | Meet at De La Salle Lawn
SMC Athletes, Free Store & Intercultural Center Pop-Up Shop & Running Shoe Donation Drive
Wednesday, April 6 | 12-2pm | De La Salle Lawn
Locking Arms for a More Sustainable Future
Wednesday, April 20 | 5:30 - 7pm | SF Commonwealth Club
Tour of Mount Diablo Resource Recovery
Thursday, April 21 | 3pm | Concord, CA
Living Conservation and Sustainability: A Conversation with Ernesto Christian Enkerlin Hoeflich
Thursday, April 21 | 5pm | Hagerty Lounge
Join us for Ernesto Christian Enkerlin Hoeflich, a prominent Mexican conservationist, environmentalist and researcher, specialized in parrots' ecology, environmental policy, sustainability and biodiversity stewardship. Ernesto is currently the Director of Conservation and Sustainability at Parque Fundidora, Mexico.
Weigh the [food] Waste
Friday, April 22 | Lunchtime | Oliver Dining Hall
River of Words Festival & La Salle Fest
Saturday, April 23 | 12:30-3:30pm | De La Salle Quad
Sustainability will be hosting face painting, seed planting and an interactive written word display
Free Store Denim Table @ Denim Day (a CARE Center event - Sexual Assault Prevention Month)
Wednesday, April 27 | 11am | Dante Quad
Sustainability / The Free Store will be hosting a table of denim clothing to support the event
Mending and Feminist Pockets: Crafting as Activism
Thursday, April 28 | 10:30am | Center for Women & Gender Equity
A collaboration between Professor Suzanne Schmidt, CWGE, the CARE Center & Sustainability
Free Store Pop Up Shop
Friday, April 29 | 12pm | De La Salle Lawn
Welcome to Saint Mary's 2021 Earth Month. We offer this space as a means to facilitate community and dialogue around this year's theme - Restoring Our Earth.
Saint Mary's monthlong celebration of the environment will be almost all virtual again this year. Saint Mary's will honor the 51st Anniversary of Earth Day through a series of talks, discussions and initiatives. Our intention is to create a space to come together in dialogue to share ideas, see familiar faces and discuss ways to restore our common home. See below for a list of internal and external events.
Unintended Consequences: How we Invented the Global Plastic Crisis by Trying to Solve Others
- Tuesday, April 6 | 3pm | Plastics Talk moderated by Professor Michal Strahelivitz | Zoom
- To RSVP and receive a zoom link for this talk, please contact Michal Strahilevitz, ms9@stmarys-ca.edu
Feeling Green Friday - the Intercultural Center, Black Student Union & International Club
- Friday, April 9 | 12:30pm | Zoom
- Join the Intercultural Center, Black Student Union, and International Club in our celebration of this amazing planet that we inhabit! All are welcome to join in on the fun, get the chance to win prizes, and maybe learn a thing or two.
Food Justice Panel: Growing Community through Food
- Tuesday, April 13 | 1:15pm | Food Justice Panel Discussion | Zoom
- For Zoom link, please RSVP on the event webpage
Earth Day 2021 - Three Days of Climate Action
- Join thousands of organizations as we call on the world to come together for three days of action.
- If you are ready to get involved in-person, join several environmental justice groups for a socially-distant rally in front of San Francisco City Hall in an effort to prioritize the health and environment of Bayview Hunters Point and Treasure Island residents.
Documentary filmmaker, Michelle Aguilar, film screening of El Cacao and Q&A
- Tuesday, April 27 | 1:15 | Film screening and Q&A with filmmaker | Zoom
- This event will be hosted Professor Jason Jakaitis' Video Production class.
The Free Store & Gael Pantry collaborative event
- Wednesday, April 28, 2021 - 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- De La Salle Lawn
- To celebrate De La Salle Heritage Days and Earth Day, the GaelPantry and the Free Store would like to invite you to join them for their collaboration pop up event on April 28, 2021 during Community Time (1-2:30) in front of De La Salle Hall. Shop for school supplies, kitchen supplies, and more and place an order in-person with the GaelPantry and spend some time drawing with sidewalk chalk!
#MakeClimateAClass
- Two of our Saint Mary's sustainability student leaders, Payton Reil and Teonia Brotoiu, have spent the semester working with an international movement to #MakeClimateAClass. Join them in making your pledge here
Garden Prom
Garden Prom is an annual spring celebration held during Earth Month that brings the campus community together to celebrate sustainability, connection, and the end of the academic year. The event began in 2024 as a small appreciation gathering for the Sustainability team and the community that supports our programs, including the Legacy Garden, Free Store, Garden Club, interns, volunteers, and student leaders.
The idea of a prom was added to make the celebration more meaningful and inclusive, inspired by a Garden Club student leader who had never had the opportunity to attend a prom. What began as a simple appreciation event has grown into a beloved campus tradition that celebrates the entire student body and the many people who contribute to sustainability at Saint Mary’s. With three successful Garden Proms to date, the event continues to create a joyful space for students to come together, celebrate the semester, and build community in the garden.
2024 Prom Photos
