EARTH MONTH at SOU
Events and Activities
Earth Month at SOU is a series of events, activities, and programming for the SOU community, and beyond, throughout the month of April! Questions? Contact the SOU Student Sustainability Team at ecos@sou.edu
List of Events and Activities:
-
- EcoChallenge (All Month)
- EcoChallenge Kick-Off (April 7th)
- Grad-Gear Loan Program (All Month)
- Equity Roundtable (April 12th)
- AIFF “2040” Screening (April 17th)
- Our Place, Before and After: An Earth Day Story Circle (April 21st)
- Intersectional and Inclusive Environmentalism (April 22nd)
- EcoQuest Adventure (April 22nd – 25th)
- Battle of the Food Pantry Bags (April 23rd)
- Bike and Hike Week (April 26th – 30th)
- From Special ED to PhD (April 27th)
- Earth Month at The Farm at SOU
- Earth Week with OSPIRG
Earth Month Drawdown EcoChallenge
All of April, Join the SOU Team!
Everyone in the SOU community is invited to join the SOU EcoChallenge Team: take the challenge, and see how a few weeks of action add up to a lifetime of change for you and the planet! Earth Month EcoChallenge provides tools and inspiration to turn intention into action, and gives participants a fun and social way to think about and act on proven solutions to reverse climate change. Visit earthmonth.ecochallenge.org to learn more, set up your account, and join the Sustainability at Southern Oregon University team! This is a fun and sustainable way to get involved in the SOU community while at home. We hope to see your name on our team roster!
Grad-Gear Loan Program
All Month!
Are you graduating this spring and interested in taking “commencement photos” in a cap and gown to commemorate this hard-won achievement? The Student Sustainability Team is partnering with the SU Welcome Desk to offer graduating seniors a chance to borrow a cap and gown set that was donated by graduates at SOU’s last in-person commencement in 2019. Caps and gowns will be available to borrow for free, throughout the month of April and while supplies last. Visit the Stevenson Union Welcome Desk Monday – Friday 8:30 am – 5 pm, while supplies last. Please be sure to return borrowed gear within three weeks to ensure we have supplies for future graduates!
EcoChallenge Virtual Kick-off
Wednesday April 7th, 12:30 – 1:30 pm.
Interested in joining our Earth Month EcoChallenge team, but unsure of what the EcoChallenge is? Join our virtual kick-off event Wednesday, April 7th from 12:30 – 1:30 pm! This is a great opportunity to get involved in one of our many Earth Month events from home. Learn about EcoChallenge, ask questions, and share your ideas about the different ways you can take engaging, meaningful, and sustainable actions that give back to our community and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sign up for the SOU EcoChallenge team in advance at earthmonth.ecochallenge.org, or you can sign up during the event. Visit the SOU Event Calendar to join us!
Equity Roundtable: Collective Visioning of SOU Equity
Monday April 12th, 12:30 – 1:30 pm.
For this special edition of Equity Roundtables, we will collectively brainstorm the changes needed to align SOU with equity, diversity, and inclusion values. Students, staff, and faculty are invited to attend, discuss what efforts are missing or needed, and contribute their ideas for transforming our campus and community.
About the Roundtables: The Equity Roundtables are a place to join in conversation with the SOU community to explore topics of social equity and the impacts of inclusion and diversity on our university, the region, and beyond. Each quarter the Student Sustainability Team of the Social Justice and Equity Center, in collaboration with campus and community partners, will offer two Equity Roundtables Zoom discussions. This series is free and open to the entire community!
Ashland Independent Film Festival Screening: “2040”
Saturday April 17th, screen from home with voucher.
SOU students and employees are invited to attend a free virtual screening of the film “2040” as part of the Ashland Independent Film Festival. Motivated by concerns about the planet his four-year-old daughter would inherit, director Damon Gameau embarked on a global journey to meet innovators and changemakers in the areas of economics, technology, civil society, agriculture, education, and sustainability. Drawing on their expertise, he sought to identify the best solutions, available to us now, that would help improve the health of our planet and the societies that operate within it. SOU students, faculty, and staff can register to receive a one-use screening voucher to screen the film from home anytime on April 16th or 17th. This registration form closes April 15th so please register in advance!
Our Place, Before and After: An Earth Day Story Circle
Wednesday April 21, 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
Please join the Southern Oregon University Student Sustainability Team and Erica Ledesma and Raul Tovar from De La Raiz Project for a free online story circle on Wednesday, April 21st from 5:30 – 7:30 pm (PST). Most of us have experienced change this year in ways both large and small. Join us in community to share experiences of Our Place, Before and After. This virtual event is open to the public and folks both near and far are invited! Please register in advance at tinyurl.com/earthdaystory to receive the event link.
Intersectional and Inclusive Environmentalism
Earth Day April 22nd, 4:00 – 5:30 pm.
Join colleges statewide for an exciting afternoon with PSU alums & climate advocates Summer Dawn (@ClimateDiva) and Madison Daisy (@ClimateDaisy) as they discuss all-things intersectional climate activism and how college students can rise up to the challenge of changing our world for the better. The event includes an hour-long panel discussion with the two panelists and 30 minutes for a live Q&A. Please register at https://bit.ly/OR-EarthDay to receive the event link.
Rogue Valley Earth Day EcoQuest Adventure
Thursday 22nd to Sunday 25th.
From Thursday, April 22 to Sunday, April 25, take part in activities at home and outdoors that are organized by local nonprofits, businesses and agencies that usually have exhibits at Rogue Valley Earth Day. You can sign-up and track activities in an online app (coming soon) — and be entered in a raffle to earn prizes! Check back soon at roguevalleyearthday.net/ecoquest for more information.
EP!C Earth Day Seed Grams
RSVP by April 23rd.
Celebrate the Earth with beautiful wildflower seeds sent right to your door! Use the attached link to send yourself or a friend wildflower seed grams from EPIC! RSVP below before April 23rd.
Battle of the Food Pantry Bags
Friday April 23rd, 2 – 4 pm.
Want to learn creative ways to cook meals based on items from the Student Food Pantry food bags? Then join us live over Zoom in the “Battle of the Food Pantry Bags” where students and faculty members will compete to create the best meals on a budget! Learn about the Food Pantry, hear stories from our four contestants (faculty contestants include Leslie Eldridge and Dr. Jamie Trammel from the ESP program, competing against two surprise student contestants!), and vote for what you think would be your favorite meal! All audience members will be entered into drawings for multiple “door prizes” – including gift cards to ShopNKart, Creekside Pizza, and The Farm at SOU’s Farmstand!
Bike and Hike Week
Moday 26th to Friday 30th.
For the last week of Earth Month, the Student Sustainability Team invites you to participate in the Bike/Hike Week social media giveaway! How does it work? Simply take a picture of yourself riding your bike or going on a hike, tag us in the post or story, use the hashtag #BikeandHikeSOU, and make sure you are following @sou_studentsustainability on Instagram. We will be picking two winners at random per day to receive a Dutch Bros gift card, and you can enter once every day! Not on Instagram or don’t have a public IG profile? Email us your photo at ecos@sou.edu to enter. Winners will be contacted by IG direct message (or email). Ride and walk safely! Good luck Raiders!
From Special Education to PhD: A Latino’s Conservation Journey
Tuesday April 27th, 12:30 – 1:30 pm.
Dr. Erim Gómez will share how he has navigated college as a first-gen student, POC, and a career in conservation, all while struggling with learning disabilities. Dr. Gomez graduated from SOU with a B.S. in Environmental Studies in 2007. While at SOU, Dr. Gomez was a McNair Scholar and worked for ECOS, where he helped to establish SOU’s first Green Tag Fee to support campus sustainability initiatives. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences from Washington State University (2020) and is now Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana.
Earth Month at The Farm at SOU
April is a busy month at The Farm at SOU! Check out the below offerings and opportunities for ways to get involved and support SOU’s local food system! Currently these:
CSA
Sign up now! The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program is a mutually beneficial way for community members to support our local farm by investing in a share of crops at a reduced price; members receive a weekly bag of in-season, pesticide-free produce throughout the growing season.
Volunteer Fridays
Join the Farm at SOU at 155 Walker St from 1:30 – 4:30 pm every Friday to volunteer and learn more about sustainable agriculture.
Call for Art Submissions
We are currently looking for art submissions to be displayed at The Farm at SOU, if you have an idea for a visual art piece that you could create, please submit it for consideration.
Submit Your Art for consideration!
Farm Stand
Save the date! The Farm will be offering the SOU community a farmstand stocked with high quality, pesticide-free fruits, and vegetables every Thursday from 1 – 5 pm, located at the corner of Siskiyou Boulevard and Wightman Street from May 27 until October 7.
Earth Week Launch & Visibility Blitz
Monday, 4/19 12 – 1 pm.
Help us launch Earth Week and generate excitement for nature! We’ll be learning about the history of Earth Day, talking about our experiences with the environment, and posting on social media to increase visibility.
Letter to the Editor Writing Event
Tuesday, 4/20 1 – 2 pm.
Write letters to the editor about climate change and 100% clean energy in Oregon and submit them to our local papers to be published! There will be a quick training on how to write an effective letter, then we’ll spend time writing our own.
Environmental Panel
Wednesday, 4/21 4 – 5 pm.
Hear from local environmental activists and community leaders working on sustainability projects in Ashland and SOU about their work and how you can get involved.
Statewide Youth Summit
Thursday, 4/22 2 – 4 pm.
Join climate leaders from across the state of Oregon in mobilizing to tackle climate change. Hear what different groups are doing and participate in discussions about how we can help.
“Before the Flood” movie screening and discussion
Friday, 4/23 5 – 7 pm.
Before the Flood features Leonardo DiCaprio uncovering the reality of climate change, meeting with political leaders fighting against inaction and discovering a calculated disinformation campaign by powerful special interests working to confuse the public about the urgency of the growing climate crisis. We will be watching this film together and discussing it afterward!
