Throughout April, the University of Iowa is celebrating the culture of sustainability with numerous Earth Month 2013 activities on campus.

The UI Office of Sustainability is collaborating with UI faculty, staff, and student environmental organizations to present Earth Month. A full list of Earth Month events is available here. A sampling follows:

• UI Environmental Coalition’s Treasure Trade, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday, April 11, at Hubbard Park. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to donate gently used clothing, accessories, electronics, books, household items, etc. and trade them for a new item that was donated.
• Campus Stewardship Day, 1-4 p.m. Friday, April 12, south of Boyd Law Building. Environmental science students will join UI Facilities Management Building and Landscape Services crews to pull garlic mustard, clean up trash, and plant wildflowers. Another campus stewardship day is planned from 1-4 p.m. April 19 or 25 on the Lower Finkbine Trail, where invasive species will be replaced with native trees. Volunteers are welcome to join in the effort.
• A documentary film series with screenings of Revenge of the Electric Car and an electric car showcase April 16, Switch: Discover the Future of Energy and discussion April 23, and Where the Yellowstone Goes April 30. The Museum of Natural History Film Series features environmental documentaries and children’s movies Sundays in April.
• Waste audits will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, April 24, in the atrium of the College of Public Health Building and at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 30, on the T. Anne Cleary Walkway. Volunteers are needed for these waste audits, which help campus officials create strategies for reducing or diverting waste and improving recycling.
• Update: This event has been moved to coincide with the Sustainability Festival Thursday, April 25 from 5-7 p.m. in 2520D University Capitol Centre. An exhibit of multi-media artwork with a sustainability theme will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday April 18 at Public Space One, 129 E. Washington St.
• Update: This event has been postedponed, details to follow. Volunteers are also needed for an Iowa River cleanup, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, April 20, starting at the UI Water Plant, 208 West Burlington St.
• Open house, tours, and workshops at the UI Student Garden are set for 1-5 p.m., Sunday, April 21.
• As a way to show the environment benefits of drinking tap water, Take Back the Tap will hold a taste test of bottled water versus tap water from 12:30-2:30 p.m., Monday, April 22, on the T. Anne Cleary Walkway.

Ongoing Earth Month events in April include a Bike Commuter Challenge, where campus teams compete to see who has the highest average number of bike commute miles. Fraternity and sorority houses are also competing in the UI Student Government’s Greeks Go Green energy challenge to see which house can reduce its energy bill by the highest percentage.

Students are also showing their environmental awareness through art. Andrew Desforges and Amanda Johnson, graduate students in the UI School of Art and Art History, created the image for the UI Earth Month poster and T-shirts around the theme of a celebration of the culture of sustainability.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact George McCrory in advance at george-mccrory@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5517.