Earth Week 2023 - Invest in our Planet by Using your Gifts

This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage from all walks of life to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods.

For Earth Day 2023, we need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.

At CSB/SJU, we're taking this Earth Week to give back to our community and share the good news - We are the climate generation! Our actions, large and small, global and local, change our world. We're compiling events from all over campus, from all interests and organizations. Think your group or interest has nothing to do with saving the planet? Think again! Every industry has a role in shaping our planet for generations to come.

This calendar is not a full list! Check the table below for all events. Email [email protected] with any questions.

Earth Week Flyer by Sustainability Office

Full Schedule

All-Week Events

Tabling in Gorecki 10am-2pm

Put sticky notes on the Gorecki wall about your environmental habits, your gifts, and your hopes for the future! Stop by the table to get freebies, join environmental email lists, and win prize baskets of zero-waste swaps.

Library Displays - Clemens and Alcuin Libraries

Look for environmental classics, cli-fi, hopeful solarpunk futures and more in the library displays!

The week after Earth Week, our libraries will be hosting interactive displays from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency!

Online Giveaway  - Sustainability Office @csbsjuSustainability on Instagram!

Repost our giveaway post and tag three friends following the Office for a chance to win an exclusive, online-only gift basket from the Office!

Before Earth Week

Time + Location Event, Sponsor, Description

5:00-7:00 pm - Thursday, April 13

Brother Willie's Pub

Renewable Energy Happy Hour - Environmental Studies Department

Did you know that green energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the US economy and we can all be part of it? All years and majors are welcome to come network with CSB and SJU alums in renewable energy and other sustainable, green jobs!

Sunday, April 16 - Spirituality, Catholic, and Benedictine Tradition

Time + Location Event, Sponsor, Description

9:00 pm

SJU Abbey Church

Earth Week Mass  - Saint John's Abbey

Enjoy the first mass back from Easter with a homily from Father Nick that features the Catholic and Benedictine faith's commitment to the environment.

Monday, April 17 - Student Focus

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:00-2:00 - Monday, April 17

Gorecki Fireside

Tabling in Gorecki: Use your Gifts!  - Sponsored by the Sustainability Office

Write your sustainable actions,  your hopes, and your ideas for our school on our vision board on the wall of Gorecki Fireside. Grab stickers, chat with sustainable student champions and  sign up to win some baskets of food and self-care freebies from the Minnesota Street Market!

10:00-2:00pm - Monday, April 17

Gorecki Dining

Meatless Lunch at Gorecki - Gorecki Dining Center

Have you heard of Meatless Monday? Going without meat for one day, especially beef, can make a huge difference in your personal footprint. Cut your water usage, impact on biodiversity and forest loss, and greenhouse gas emissions while enjoying Culinary Services' delicious fajita bar, pizzas, and a mushroom grilled sandwich at the Grill! If you'd like to eat meatless more often, Gorecki has vegan options (no meat or animal products like cheese/eggs) and made-to-order veggie burgers at the Granary station every day!

4:30-5:30 - Monday, April 17

Meet at Sexton Bus Stop

SJU Sustainability Tour - Sustainability Office

Join Sustainability Manager Kyle Rauch for a tour of all the sustainable spots on SJU! See the solar fields that were the biggest in Minnesota when they were built in 2010. Admire the arboretum, examine energy-saving LED lights and more!

4:00-6:00pm - Monday, April 17

Gorecki 120

Sustainable Fashion with Carol Bruess - Sustainability Office

Did you know that First Lady Carol Bruess is passionate about making fashion environmentally friendly? Join her, the Sustainability Office, and student entrepreneurs Trace Upcycling for a fun workshop on repairing, upcycling, and customizing your clothes. Space is limited.

Tuesday, April 18 - Global Solutions and Justice

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:30-10:30 am - Tuesday, April 18

Meet at the BAC

CSB Poetry Circle - SJU Eco House and Jervon Sands

Share and read your poetry in a beautiful nature setting! All poets and poems are welcome, but a climate/environmental/justice focus is appreciated!

9:00-2:00 - Tuesday, April 18

Gorecki Fireside

Tabling in Gorecki  - Sustainability Office

Write your sustainable actions,  your hopes, and your ideas for our school on our vision board on the wall of Gorecki Fireside. Grab stickers, chat with sustainable student champions and  sign up to win some baskets of food and self-care freebies from the Minnesota Street Market!

2:00pm-3:00pm - Tuesday, April 18

St. John's Pottery, St. Joseph Hall, SJU (behind Art Building)

Tour of the Saint John's Pottery - St. John's Pottery

For 40 years, The Saint John's Pottery has embodied the Benedictine values of community, hospitality and self-sufficiency as well as the University's commitment to the integration of art and life; the preservation of the environment; the linkage between work and worship; and the celebration of diverse cultures. Come tour the pottery with artist-in-residence Richard Bresnahan and enjoy a cup of tea at the irori table.

4:00-5:00 pm - Tuesday, April 18

Quad 170, SJU

Historical Tour of Saint John's: The Land, the Lake, & Lots of Curiosities- Peggy Roske, CSB+SJU Archives

Old images, maps and texts from the Archives reveal the interesting environmental story that is Saint John’s, from the arrival of the Benedictines to the adaptations that followed.  Learn from the Archivist about past features of the land and lake, and interesting historical tidbits along the way.

6:00-7:00 pm - Tuesday, April 18

Meet at the CSB mall

Nature Bathing - Spirituality and Social Justice

Enjoy a restful walk through the CSB arboretum in the Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku, or nature bathing. Use all five senses and appreciate the world around you.

7:30-8:45pm - Tuesday, April 18

Episcopal House of Prayer, SJU

Book  Group: Intersectional Environmentalist: How To Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People and Planet. - Br. Denys Janiga and Climate Justice Club

Leah Thomas visited our campus two years ago for Earth Week! Since then, she's written a book on being an Intersectional Environmentalist, someone who thinks about systems of oppression as they act for justice. Books are available through this link: https://www.csbsju.edu/forms/LRZ091M4YG

Wednesday, April 19 - Doing the Work, from Forest to Office

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:00am-2:00pm - Wednesday, April 19

Gorecki Fireside

Tabling in Gorecki  - Sustainability Office

Write your sustainable actions,  your hopes, and your ideas for our school on our vision board on the wall of Gorecki Fireside. Grab stickers, chat with sustainable student champions and  sign up to win some baskets of food and self-care freebies from the Minnesota Street Market!

12:55-3:00pm - Wednesday, April 19

Meet in at the back of Science Lot #1 behind Alcuin Library at 12:55. 

Workday Wednesday Outdoor U

Join Outdoor U for their weekly public work time in the Arboretum. Workday Wednesdays happen all year and can be RSVP'd for through this link, but RSVP is optional for this event!

7:00-9:00 - Wednesday, April 19

Pellegrene Auditorium

Northern Lights, Starry Skies - ENVR Department, Jessica Heim

Watch the 1-hour long documentary on light pollution and starry skies that won Best Minnesota film, followed by a short presentation and Q&A about SJU's lighting situation with Jessica Heim, a cultural astronomer and graduate of CSB+SJU.

See Jessica featured in the movie!

Thursday, April 20 - 

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:00am-2:00pm - Thursday, April 20

Gorecki Fireside

Tabling in Gorecki  - Sustainability Office

Write your sustainable actions,  your hopes, and your ideas for our school on our vision board on the wall of Gorecki Fireside. Grab stickers, chat with sustainable student champions and  sign up to win some baskets of food and self-care freebies from the Minnesota Street Market!

9:30-10:30 am - Thursday, April 20

Lake Sag Dock

SJU Poetry Circle - SJU Eco House and Jervon Sands

Share and read your poetry in a beautiful nature setting! All poets and poems are welcome, but a climate/environmental/justice focus is appreciated!

2:00-5:00pm - Thursday, April 20

Melancon Greenhouse (entrance on Pengel 1st floor)

Make a Terrarium and Paint the Greenhouse - Dr. Kate Cary and the Melancon Greenhouse

To celebrate Earth Week, drop by the greenhouse to either make a mason jar terrarium to bring home, or add your touch to our paintings in the underground greenhouse tunnel, or both!

To join the Plant Science Alliance email list, fill out this form!

Thursday, April 20

Climate Edition - The Record

Look for climate campus news, editorials, and hopeful environmentalist stories in the student newspaper this week!

4:30-5:30 - Thursday, April 20

Meet at Gorecki Bus Stop

CSB Sustainability Tour - Sustainability Office

Join Sustainability Manager Kyle Rauch for a tour of all the sustainable spots on CSB! From our on-campus greenhouse to our LEED-certified buildings, there's plenty to see!

8:00-9:00pm - Thursday, April 20

Brother Willie's Pub

Theology on Tap: StewEARTHship - SJUfaith with Derek Larson

What is the role of Benedictine communities in Climate Justice? How do the Benedictine Values of Listening, Respect for Persons, Stewardship, and Common Good lead us toward creating a better Earth and healthier ecosystems for human and more-than-human life? How can we make our environmentalism more spiritual, and vice versa?

Friday, April 21 - 

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:00am-2:00pm - Friday, April 21

Gorecki Fireside

Tabling in Gorecki  - Sustainability Office

Write your sustainable actions,  your hopes, and your ideas for our school on our vision board on the wall of Gorecki Fireside. Grab stickers, chat with sustainable student champions and  sign up to win some baskets of food and self-care freebies from the Minnesota Street Market!

12:00-2:00 - Friday, April 21

New Sustainability Space in breezeway between Clemens Library and Gorecki

Grand Opening of the New Sustainability Office - Sustainability Office

Snacks and refreshments from Full Circle Greenhouse available as we celebrate the opening of our new space and honor the artists of our new mural!

6:30-9:30 - Friday, April 21

Upper Gorecki

Drag Show -QPLUS

Join QPLUS for a fabulous night of drag! Lip-syncs, dancing, runway and more!

Saturday, April 22 - EARTH DAY!

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

9:30am-6:30pm - Saturday, April 22

Meet at Gorecki (?) at 9am

Off-Campus Case Day Getaway -  Peer Resource Program

Is Case Day not your day? Come join PRP for a fun getaway!

12pm-4pm - Saturday, April 22

Watab Picnic Area

Arboretum Case Day Getaway - Climate Justice Club

Want to NOT be on campus? Want to spend some chill time in nature while listening to distant hooting and hollering? Like Bubly, lemonade, and/or mocktails?

Sunday, April 23 -

Time Event, Sponsor, Description

10:00am-12:00pm - Sunday, April 23

Case Day Cleanup CSB and SJU Senates, Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity

Come help us clean up St. Joe! We're meeting up on campus, but find us in town iwth gloves and bags!

Prize Basket Raffle Form Here!