Title: Celebrating Earth Month Through Art, Discussions and Greenlit Ideas

This year, Georgetown community members made a special push to celebrate Earth Month. 

Hoyas visited an installation along the Potomac River from the Earth Commons’ artist-in-residence, pruned and planted in Georgetown’s Hoya Harvest Garden, studied marine life, pitched new sustainability ideas and debated the climate issues of our time. 

Georgetown works to better the environment and sustainability year-round, from education and research on pressing global issues to making our campus more green. This year, the Office of Sustainability partnered with the Earth Commons, Georgetown’s institute for the environment and sustainability, and other environmentally-focused student organizations to celebrate and raise awareness for Earth Month. 

“We have a wonderful collaboration with the teams across the university prioritizing sustainable actions. I’m excited to see us make progress towards our sustainability goals,” said Ayana Thomas, the new associate vice president for sustainable business operations. “The beauty of sustainability is that it touches everything. We want to help members of our community find their place of action at Georgetown.”

Learn more about how the university is celebrating Earth Month — and find your place of action. 

visited a new climate-focused art installation on the Potomac

The Earth Commons’ artist-in-residence has built a 14-foot ring along the Georgetown Waterfront that tells stories about climate risks in Washington, DC. Andrea Limauro installed “The River and the Town,” which examines the risk of the Potomac River flooding during the spring season. The first of four in a series commissioned by The Washington Post, the work will be moved to Georgetown’s campus in October.  

planted new seeds

On March 30, we got to work in the Hoya Harvest Garden, Georgetown’s community garden developed by the Earth Commons. Community members began with a meditation led by Campus Ministry’s Dharmic Life before pruning, planting and readying the garden for spring. 

and got our feet wet studying marine life.

Over spring break, students in Professor David Shiffman’s course, Marine Research Field Methods, took their learning to deep waters in Florida. For six days, they conducted hands-on research in aquatic systems, collecting data, observing marine life and applying scientific methods to real-world environments.  

We pitched a (caffeinated) idea to make Georgetown more sustainable

 The Georgetown Ecopreneurship Club hosted its first pitch competition, inviting student teams to develop a solution to improve sustainability in Georgetown’s neighborhoods and campuses. The team Regrounded took home $3,000 for their idea to turn coffee grounds into compost. They will also receive project development mentorship to implement their solution.

and heard from leaders debating climate challenges 

On April 7, Jigar Shah, former director of the Loan Programs Office at the U.S. Department of Energy, and Emily Domenech, co-host of the Political Climate podcast, debated questions about U.S. leadership in clean energy manufacturing, the energy transition’s impact on the global economy and the implications of geopolitics and supply chains on national energy security.

On March 24, the Earth Commons hosted a screening of UNEARTH as part of the DC Environmental Film Festival, inviting community members into a conversation on environmental justice, Indigenous sovereignty and the costs of resource extraction. 

On April 2, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google Vint Cerf talked sustainability, accessibility, vulnerability and security in the first Distinguished Lecture of the new Emergent Ethics Network.

We did some spring cleaning

On April 11, the Office of Sustainability along with REUSE, a student-run nonprofit that helps Hoyas reduce waste, hosted a spring cleanout for students, faculty and staff. Community members donated clothes, food, books, electronics and other items to local nonprofit organizations. 

and took time to stop and smell the roses — and reflect on where we’re going.

In March, faculty, staff and students gathered at Georgetown’s retreat center in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a day of wellness, ecological education and social impact discussions led by the Office of Sustainability and Mission & Ministry. 

“It’s important for us to continue to forge ahead, be resilient and find ways to still be intentional and thoughtful about how we care for the planet and how we care for ourselves,” said Thomas, the associate vice president for sustainable business operations. 

Thomas encourages interested community members to visit the sustainability website for more information on workshops, consultations and opportunities to get involved. 

For more events, visit the Earth Month calendar and attend the Earth Day Festival  on April 22 from 1-3 p.m. on the Leavey Esplanade.