Earth Day Fair
Earth Day was established in 1970 when the public became increasingly concerned about the current state of the environment.
The Earth Day Fair has been a tradition at W&J since 2019.
In April 2020 and April 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fair was brought online for a week. It focused on educating the W&J community about sustainability topics, student and faculty environmental work, and encouraged participation in celebrating Earth Day.
Student & Faculty Blogs
Students and faculty have contributed over 50+ blogs dedicated to celebrating Earth Day. Topics range from conservation to environmental justice issues, and they touch upon personal experiences or passion for a subject.
Why Rehabilitate? – Hannah Robart
Eco-Backyard: Composting & Planting Trees – Robert Dunn
Why We All Play a Role in Conserving Our Oceans – Kathryn Campbell
The Role of Nature & Mental Health – Cathy Petchel
Student Creative Pieces
Students wrote poems, short stories, and created art centered around celebrating the earth.
Title: “Tenacity”
Artist: Lena DiFulvio
Medium: Pencil on paper
“Tenacity,” at first glance, seems simply to be a human hand holding a tree, its roots spread about, reaching for the unseen earth below. A butterfly perches on the hand, its size taking hold of our gaze. Is this a work depicting beautiful human interaction with the Earth, providing fertile ground for its life to flourish upon, or is the tree in the image is being mercilessly uprooted, a symbol of human destruction and carelessness? Just as we must decide how we treat our planet, it is up to us to assign meaning to this piece. (April 2021)
Sightless Description
Written by Stephanie Shugerman Close your eyes and walk. The heat of the sun beats on your shoulders; a glow creeping through your body, warmth from the top of your head to your bare toes on the ground. Wind swirls around your body, fluttering your shirt, the soft...
Giving Thanks to the Earth
Written by Quinn Pickering | A week ago, I was biking along a river and saw a man sitting on a bench looking out upon the water. The man was still, deeply immersed in the water flowing past him. The water welcomed his gaze, reminding him of all of the river’s...
Environmental Ceramics
Written by Savannah Keough | As a child I loved being outside with my siblings, being in nature, and using art as an outlet to let my creativity run wild and that has stuck until this day. Throughout high school, I discovered that my love for art expanded when I took...
We Need Them
Written by Bri Hoffman | What would we do without the bees? They are the reason behind flowers And fruits on trees It is not just the bees we desperately need There are other creatures too that without we could not succeed Beetles are around under leaves on the...
Plastic Bag in Blossoming Tree
Written by Sofya Maxnide | It stands out A huge white blob amongst the red little things At the end of each tingly feeler of the strong tree Clinging to the outstretched arms of the living tree Not even a parasite can I call it for its not alive In any sense but yet...
The Cactus & The Eagle
Written by Gracie Gregick | It was through the immense pain in my heart that I, myself, came face to face with the Gods. Once before, they descended to our people as messengers; promising land if we left the security of our home in the North. We wandered dispossessed...