Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Written by: Emily Burds
brightly colored illustration
Earth Month illustration designed by MFA student Huangyuying Zheng.

During April, the University of Iowa will present a series of events promoting sustainability on campus and in the local community as part of Earth Month 2014.

The UI Office of Sustainability is teaming up with UI faculty, staff, and several student organizations to present this year’s Earth Month.

Ongoing activities throughout the month include the Earth Month Bike Challenge April 6-27, where bike commuters can log miles for trophies and prizes. The Greek Energy Challenge encourages fraternities and sororities to use their creativity to save energy and be sustainable.

A full list of events can be found at the UI Earth Month website. A sampling follows:

  • Bike Tuneup Day, noon to 2 p.m. Friday, April 4, on the Pentacrest (weather permitting). Bike to class or work and get ready for spring with a tune up from a local bike mechanic, sponsored by the UI Bike Coalition.
  • Fry Street String Quartet, presenting “The Crossroads Project” 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the College of Public Health’s Callaghan Auditorium. The Fry Street Quartet joins with physicist and educator Robert Davies to present this interdisciplinary program that looks at the challenges we face with climate change.
  • Sustainability Festival, 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, Room 2520D University Capitol Centre (Old Capitol Town Center). Presenters from UI will discuss our current progress and projects in sustainability. Community members and students are welcome to table about their research, projects, job opportunities, campaign work, and more. The festival will also include a RecycleMania wrap-up.
  • Reusable Bag Campaign, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, on the Ped Mall. The UI Environmental Coalition and 100 Grannies will collect plastic bags to take to City Carton to recycle and hand out reusable bags in exchange. This event is intended to promote greater awareness of plastic bag reduction across the campus and community.
  • UI Environmental Coalition Treasure Trade, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, at the Iowa Memorial Union. All are welcome to bring their gently used items, including clothing, books, jewelry, etc. to donate for a free swap. UIEC members will be collecting donations starting the week before the event at our office on the second floor of the IMU.
  • Iowa Climate Festival, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26, at the Museum of Natural History. The festival includes the Iowa Climate Symposium, where local experts will discuss greenhouse gases, particles in the air, and their effects on climate, as well as the Climate Science Fair, and a presentation by Don Johnson “The Fossil Guy.”
  • The Student Garden Open House, 1-4 p.m. Sunday, April 27, at the garden, (off of Hawkeye Park Road) in Iowa City. The open house will feature tours of the garden on the west side of campus as well as short workshops. The student gardeners will pull their movable greenhouse and conclude the day with a delicious potluck feast.
  • The UI Museum of Natural History’s Movies@MNH series will feature films focusing on humankind’s relationship with the natural world every on Sunday afternoons in April, starting at 3 p.m. in Macbride Auditorium.

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 any of these programs, contact George McCrory in advance at george-mccrory@uiowa.edu or 319-335-5517.