The Office for Sustainability plans to celebrate Earth Month through partnering with Contracted Independent Organizations and community partners to bring the Charlottesville community together in support of its sustainability goals. The month’s plans include collaborations with the Morven Sustainability Lab and the School of Architecture to promote sustainability across disciplines.
The events held by the Office help to bring awareness to the University’s Sustainability 2020-2030 Plan, according to Shannon Sahs, outreach and engagement manager for the Office for Sustainability. The plan — built in alignment with the University’s 2030 Plan — outlines 10 goals. The goals include making the University carbon neutral by 2030, fossil fuel-free by 2050 and increasing sustainable food purchases to 30 percent of the annual total by 2030.
One of the goals the University set in its sustainability plan was to reduce its waste footprint to 30 percent of 2010 levels by 2030, a 70 percent reduction. Sahs says this is one of the hardest goals for the University to reach. In 2025, the latest report by the University found that it has reduced its total waste output by 35 percent since 2010 levels. Sahs said the difficulty in achieving the goal comes from the fact that it relies on more students and staff recycling and composting.
“The reason this goal is so challenging is that it's very focused on behavior change,” Sahs said. “It's not really a systemic thing that we can address in the background through infrastructure … it's a big culture shift, so we're trying to build more educational campaigns … so that we can meet that goal.”
The Office’s signature event, according to Sahs, is the Morven Spring Mixer April 17 at the Morven Sustainability Lab. The lab previously existed as a farm, and it is now used by the University for environmental research and education. The event is co-hosted by the Office, the Morven Sustainability Lab and U.Va. Dine.
Included in the event will be a free “farm-to-table” meal made from food grown on the site, an eco-fair — an event that can feature interactive tables, green career conversations, community tabling and games — and live music. Sahs said she hopes the Morven Spring Mixer will bring people together to celebrate the Earth and increase awareness about the Lab’s initiatives.
“[The Morven Spring Mixer] will be much more centered on spending time in nature, getting people out to Morven and increasing access to our sustainability lab,” Sahs said. “We're excited to come together for a community meal and celebrate in honor of the Earth.”
In past years, the Office for Sustainability held the Eco-Fair on Earth Day on Peabody Lawn. The fair had student organizations, community partners and spokespeople from the Office for Sustainability at tables sharing with students their own take on sustainability. The Morven Spring Mixer will replace this event, but it will still include an eco-fair aspect in addition to other offerings such as community art projects, lawn games, hayrides and sustainable T-shirt printing.
The Office will also hold an event in the Newcomb Hall South Meeting Room highlighting its waste footprint goal and progress Wednesday. “Behind the Bins: How Waste Works at U.Va.” will showcase the University’s recycling and composting systems and share resources the University implements to encourage reuse and waste prevention.
In an effort to reach sustainability goals and increase support for environmental efforts, Sahs said the Office aims to appeal to as much of the student body as possible by showcasing the environment's intersectionality with other subjects. Among the events the Office is promoting is the “Poetry Readings in the Garden: It Takes Courage to Be a Poet,” hosted by the Botanical Garden of the Piedmont April 25. The event will have poets present their original works that have a focus on nature.
“The way we are trying to engage students is by having something that's for everyone,” Sahs said. “If you're not someone [who's] into nature walks or getting out in the garden, there are other opportunities to engage, whether it's through a poetry reading or maybe it's connecting with the sustainability advocates.”
Towards the beginning of the month, the School of Architecture will hold a lecture titled “Carbon Confessions” Thursday. The lecture will be led by Rutger Huiberts, director of MVRDV’s New York branch — a Dutch-based architecture firm. The lecture will focus on how the construction industry can reduce carbon emissions, drawing from MVRDV’s journey in implementing sustainability practices in its work.
Students and community members can find more information for Earth Month events on the Office for Sustainability’s website and on the University’s calendar.
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