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.

How is COVID-19 Related to the Environment and Minority Communities in the United States?

Written by Rachel Karman As of April 2nd, 2021, COVID-19 has taken more than 2.83 million lives world-wide. The pandemic had a reproductive rate (Re) of 2.2-3.0, essentially meaning that if you got the virus, you would likely spread it to 2-3 other people. A...

Hiking to Find Myself

Written by Julia Schaffer Happy Earth Day!! I believe that helping and appreciating the earth that we have been blessed to live on is a way to pay it back for all the beautiful wonders it does for us and all the lessons it teaches us. I have been passionate about...

Shenandoah National Park

Written by Jack Meck   Earth Day is a special day. It is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy it so much because it is a reminder to be out in nature. Earth day is coming and if you need an idea, I’ll let you in on my favorite. Every year on Earth Day I like to...

Student Activism in Action

Written by Selena Easley Growing up in Elizabeth, Pennsylvania and attending school in Washington County, Pennsylvania, I have always been surrounded by the Ohio River-Valley extraction industry. As a young child, I remember driving through certain parts of towns and...

Pollinator Gardens

Written by Lekhya Kollu Pollinators are vital to sustaining our ecosystems and helping humans produce products like fruits, vegetables, fibers, nuts, and oils. One out of every three bites of food we take is thanks to the efforts of pollinators! Unfortunately, due to...

How to Recycle Plastic Bags into Yarn

Written by Carly Croft Do you feel as though you’re drowning in a sea of single-use plastic bags? Ever wonder what you could be doing to reuse them other than carrying things in them or using them for your trash can? If so, this DIY is for you. Plastic shopping bags...

Greenify Your Coffee

Written by Lily Bonasso Have you ever glanced at your morning coffee and wondered about its origins, about the process that it has undergone from bean to cup, about the environmental implications of the industry? Maybe not, but I’d like to urge you to do so today. My...

Wildlife Conservation: Zoos and Sanctuaries

Written by Julia Plasynski   Recently, there has been a mass amount of hype surrounding the new Netflix series, Tiger King. This has led to opinions circulating social media sites about how ANY type of zoo, sanctuary, or enclosure with animals is unethical and...

How to Combat Climate Change and be Sustainable as College Students?

Written by Rachel Karman   As of just recently, I have trying to implement sustainable practices in my life all while holding large corporations accountable for their colossal role in damaging the environment. I think the most important lesson I can pass on is...

The Relationship Between Father Time and Mother Nature

Written by Sofya Maxnide In the spirit of this upcoming Earth Day, let’s take a look at the parental words used in reference to Time and Nature. Time first appeared as a male in 1439, according to the OED, but we will not take into account the implied pronouns because...

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)

La Selva

Written by Marcy Saldivar |   A summer-morning cicada choir sings, The green iguanas jump between treetops,  A scarlet macaw opens rainbow wings, Dim light contrasts the glowing eyes of crocs. At dawn, a herd of peccaries run home,  Capuchins play a game of tag...

What’s the word?

Written by Chibuike Ugwu | Johnny is a special boy, He can talk to animals, which brings him joy, Johnny went to south china to see Mr. Tiger,  But he was sad to see his Ambush was getting lighter. Johnny decided to go to Kenya to greet Mrs. Rhino, But he noticed the...

Ode to the Mojave

Written by Ostin Woodfin | Wind burns the edges of the ear, in return for its words. The secrets of the desert are held in the words of the wind, the screams, the tears, the laughter, the silence. The Mojave is a home to many, including myself, the blood in my veins...

Our oceans don’t have a voice

Written by Benjamin Simon | Our oceans cover the majority of the planet But they are far from the infinite resource Like we so often treat it as They’re made up of a number of ecosystems The arctic Coral reefs And mangroves to name a few They’re home to top predators ...

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...