By Becky Streeter
Believe it or not, spring is coming, and it’s time to celebrate our amazing planet! During the week of April 20th, the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire plans to host its third annual Earth Claire Festival to do just that.
Attracting over 3,000 students and community members each year, the Earth Claire Festival is UWEC’s largest event of the year. The inaugural event was organized in 2018 by the student-run Office of Sustainability through the efforts of Austin Northagen and Taylor Limberg. Their vision was to draw attention to the vibrant community of sustainably-minded and conscious members of the campus and community. This year’s event is being developed by Programming Intern Zhiyee Teh, and is shaping up to be just as spectacular as past years.
Earth Claire Festival is a one-day open-air “market” held on the campus mall in celebration of Earth Day (April 22nd) and Arbor Day (April 24th). Local businesses, vendors, and student organizations all have the opportunity to come to campus and showcase their earth-friendly wares and practices. Previous years boasted prizes of reusable hydroflask water bottles, Patagonia apparel, bamboo toothbrushes, a French press coffee maker, reusable beeswax wraps, reusable cutlery, and shampoo bars, as well as FREE earth-friendly food and snacks. Because this event is so popular, get their early for prize drawings and tasty treats!
Though the Earth Claire Festival is a one-day event, there are a number of other Earth awareness events occurring throughout the month of April including but not limited to:
Sustainability Speaker – Renowned faculty members and infamous community members Dr. James Boulter, Dr. Doug Faulkner, and others have spoken at the festival in the past. This year the event is looking to bring in local musicians as well as climate activists.
Documentary showings held in the Woodland Theater on campus – Past documentaries have included “The Human Element” and “Chasing Ice”. All films focus on an aspect of sustainability such as public health and food access.
DIY workshops in the campus Makerspace – The Makerspace staff are inherently sustainable due to the nature of their “reuse” of items that could otherwise be placed in the landfill. Past workshops included DIY Bows + Sustainable Gift Wrapping, Book Page Flowers + Paper Crafts, and DIY Reusable Lunch Bags.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival Spring Showing – follow the Office of Sustainability on Facebook for a line up of shows and times.
As the dates get closer, the Office of Sustainabiltiy will update information for the events on the Facebook Page (UWEC Student Office of Sustainability). Keep an eye out for more details and news!
Additionally, if you own a small business and would like to be featured at the event, please reach out to the office via email: sos@uwec.edu.
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