Each April, Oxy’s campus comes to life with a celebration of our planet.
At Oxy, “Earth Day” just isn’t enough to capture our commitment to sustaining our planet! Students, staff, and faculty come together to plan a whole month’s worth of events, including local guest speakers, workshops, film screenings, an Earth Day Quad Fair, and so much more.
View a calendar of all events or toggle below for a week-by-week summary!
The "Roots so Deep" screening for Earth Month will touch upon the role of livestock animals in healing our climate and environmental crises through regenerative practices. “Roots So Deep” is a four-part documentary series all about inventive farmers and maverick scientists asking if an underutilized way to graze cattle, that mimics the way bison once roamed the land, can help get farmers out of debt, restore our depleted soils, rebuild wildlife habitat and draw down carbon? Cattle have been seen as eco-villains for a long time. What if they can help save us from catastrophic climate change? Oxy’s Earth Month Film Fest will showcase 2 episodes of the new 4-part series, “Roots So Deep (you can see the devil down there)” by director Peter Byck. Bring a blanket and snacks for our outdoor movie night on the Cooler Lawn!
This workshop aims to bring together experts to discuss the geopolitical implications of the global shift towards green energy. The event will feature two research presentations open to students and community, including keynote speaker Erin Sikorsky (Director of the Center for Climate and Security) and guest speakers Andrea Clabough (Goldwyn Global Strategies and the Global Energy Center at the Atlantic Council), John Taden (Pepperdine University), Daniel Scholten (University of Minnesota and Clingendael Institute), & Igor Logvinenko (Occidental College).
8:30 - 9:45: First Panel Discussion
10:05 - 11:15: Second Panel Discussion
11:30 - 12:30: Keynote Address
RSVP by emailing falter@oxy.edu.
Take a deep dive into the Compost World and discover the world that exists in our soils as we look through a microscope at microbial organisms from samples of the FEAST Cafeteria to Compost project. LA Compost’s Community Soil Health team, Maggie Smart McCabe ‘20 and Lynn Fang, MS, will guide attendees through the important role of microbes in our soil systems, and how we can best support them. Come ready to ask all your microbially curious questions and bring your own soil samples! This event is open to the public.
Prof. Sohaib Khan introduces how different Muslim communities think about and respond to climate change.
Natural history collections offer a wealth of information. They serve as a place to view and discover nature, explore the histories of the specimens or a collection of species, and inspire scientific questions that are significant to conservation. Take a self-guided, exploratory tour of the world's largest Mexican bird collection and a fish collection that was founded in the 70s. All ages welcome. RSVP here.
Mac & Cheese / Vegan Mac & Cheese
At this orientation we will teach you the skills for handling animals in the name of regenerative agriculture. Most importantly, when you attend a Chicken Volunteer Orientation, you automatically get 11 new bird best friends.
Join SOCC for our third public transit trip of the semester! We will be taking the bus and metro to LA State Historic Park for games and snacks, including Belle's Bagels funded by the ASOC Sustainability Fund! RSVP here.
*Oxy students only
Join us for a home cooked brunch with produce from the garden and from local farmers markets. We will also have live music and student performers! 🍅 🥬🍳🧇🍓 RSVP here (not required).
Celebrate Earth Month and connect with nature, community, and native birds. Get to know your local feathered friends, and join the Moore Lab of Zoology for a guided bird walk as we look for resident birds found on campus year-round and migratory birds passing through for the spring season.Meet us outside of the Moore Lab entrance at 8AM. Bring binoculars if you have ‘em, and we’ll also have plenty to share. RSVP here.
Join Dr. Dana Fisher in celebrating the release of her new book: “Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action.” Dr. Fisher will be joined in conversation by Isaias Hernandez (@QueerBrownVegan). RSVP here.
Directed by Karen Winther, Mary Kiio, Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, Elizabeth Miller, and Nupur Basu, HANDS-ON is a 48 minute documentary that follows 5 women across 4 continents as they tackle climate change through “policy, protest, education, and innovation."
How can the teachings of fungi help us heal our broken relationship with the land? What can they teach us about living responsibly on a damaged planet? Come along to learn the many ways you can learn with fungi and the lessons they offer. Aaron Tupac (they/them) is a mycologist, educator, community organizer, and speaker based in Los Angeles. Aaron is the organizer of the fungi-focused community education group Exploring the Mycoverse at Arlington Garden. Aaron works as a field mycologist for the California Fungal Diversity Survey Project, the first government-funded state-wide project of its kind. They are also the founder and serve as the chair of the North American Mycological Association’s Conservation and Stewardship Committee, working on mycological conservation at the international scale. Aaron is passionate about fungi conservation advocacy, ecological restoration, and making fungi education accessible for all ages and demographics. As a lover of the more-than-human world, they are fascinated with fungi and their essential role in teaching us about relationships and the interconnection of the living world. This event is open to the public.
Join UEPI, the CCBL, the Office of Sustainability, and the Urban Homestead of Pasadena for a native landscaping workday at Oxy's newest restoration site. Wear comfortable clothes and close-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle! We'll provide the rest. Light refreshments will be served to thank volunteers for their efforts.
Join the Biology Department and the Office of Sustainability for a workday at the microforest! Wear comfortable clothes and close-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle! We'll provide the rest. Light refreshments will be served to thank volunteers for their efforts.
Green Chile Enchiladas with Cilantro Rice & Beans
Join the FEAST Native Restoration Team and the ASOC Sustainability Fund in maintaining and planting new native plants at the Pollinator Garden near the upper Norris parking lot.
ReusePass Eco-Clamshell Challenge
We will paint pots and then plant succulents in them.
Join ASOC Sustainability Fund for an Earth Month screening of Pixar's A Bug's Life on the Cooler Lawn! Snacks from Re provided!
Bruce Steele ’71, retired Oxy Environmental Health and Safety Manager, and assisted with the creation of the FEAST Garden. He is an active beekeeper, nature enthusiast and passionate about environmental issues. He will teach students about honey bee life cycles, behaviors and honey-making during this workshop. Come prepared to learn all about beekeeping and ready to taste honey! This event is open to the public.
The Obama Scholars Program, Womxn of Cinema and Television Club, Sustainable Oxy Citizens Club, and FEAST present a screening of regenerative agriculture documentary The Big Raise (2024), which was developed for the Obama Fellowship. The showing will be followed by a Q&A with director and Oxy alum Angelina Lee '22. The documentary explores the permaculture practices used to sustainably grow food at La Grande Raisandière, or the Big Raise, which includes soil repair, companion planting, rainwater capture, incorporating solar and EV chargers, and more. This event is open to the public.
We will be biking, scootering, and rollerblading to the LA Youth Climate Strike at city hall on April 19th. This action is designed to call into question the car-centricity of cities, disrupt the status quo, and call for widespread climate action - all from the comfort of your own (or loaned!) bicycle seat.
Bring what you can, take what you want! Welcome to our completely free and sustainable shopping experience! All goods left over at the end of the swap will be donated!
Spinach & Cheese Empanadas with Potatoes & Spinach Salad
10:00 AM | Off-Campus
Join SOCC for an outing to the Hollywood Farmers Market, where we'll navigate LA's public transit together while supporting local food systems with a $15 voucher provided for students to enjoy fresh produce and other goods. RSVP here.
*Oxy students only
Join Project SAFE in our first annual 5k to honor and bring awareness to Earth Day and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and 2Spirit People! There will be a teach-in by the So'oh-Shinálí Sister Project to share the historical context of the ongoing trend of sexual violence against indigenous peoples and how it relates to restoring land to the original Earth stewards. We will have a land blessing by Tongva community leader, Tina Calderon. RSVP here.
** Oxy students, staff, & faculty only
Come pet some adorable baby goats this Earth Month and learn about sustainable goat keeping practices!
Join Project SAFE in honoring Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Denim Day, by exploring local Los Angeles resources for survivors and allies. Wear Denim to show your support for survivors! The ASOC Sustainability Fund will host a table with a seed bomb making activity.
Come join us on the Academic Quad from 11:30-1:30 on Thursday, April 25th for the Earth Month Quad Fair. We'll have thrift shopping, free food from Beewalis Vegan Restaurant, T-shirt printing, sustainability tabling and more!
The Moore Lab of Zoology and FEAST Garden will be hosting a bird migration watch and garden tours in celebration of earth month! Join us as we take a look, and count, the migratory birds visiting the silk oak trees during spring. Discover dynamic agricultural practices of the student-led urban garden and learn about initiatives like composting and sustainable growing practices. All ages welcome. RSVP here.
Falafel & Pita
Community members have the opportunity to engage in campus stewardship by collecting trash on Mt. Fiji. The trash cleanup will be followed by a sunset watch party and mixer with Sunrise Oxy members to discuss future climate initiatives.
Doing some spring cleaning? Bring your unwanted, good-condition “stuff” to campus to exchange it for something new! Or, just come to browse - no need to bring anything. Open to all Oxy staff and faculty. Lunch provided!
Housewares (kitchen items, lamps, etc), decor, and freshly-laundered clothing are all welcome. Please leave damaged or broken housewares or electronics at home.
1600 Campus Road M-6
Los Angeles, CA 90041