In April, dozens of PIRG chapters and clubs took action for “Youth Earth Week”, an expansion of Earth Day, and an opportunity to educate our communities about the importance of protecting our environment and to take action to build support for a variety of environmental causes.
Here are the award winning chapters:
MOST CAMPAIGN PRODUCT:
UMass Amherst – Earth Day Festival
MASSPIRG at UMass Amherst partnered with New2U and UMass Sustain at the campus Earth Day farmers market where they collected over 400 actions on various campaigns including petitioning for the phasing out fluorescents light bulbs in favor of efficient LEDs and banning seeds coated with bee-killing pesticides, and selling fun thrifted clothing items for the Waste is Out of Fashion campaign. And they had a bike-powered smoothie machine!
The UMass Amherst chapter also held a “Whale of a Good Time” action station at the Save the Right Whales campaign. Students collected petitions and photo petitions with Walter the inflatable North Atlantic Right Whale and played lawn games. With a dozen volunteers, the chapter, led by incoming campus organizer Allison Olson, collected 272 petition signatures and 22 photo petitions calling for protections for right whales, helping the campaign hit 1,000 signatures and photo petitions for the year!
MOST MEDIA ATTENTION:
UC San Diego – EarthFest “Polluters Pay”
CALPIRG at UC San Diego held an action station at EarthFest in Balboa Park for their “Make Polluters Pay” campaign, which is working to pass a bill to create a superfund that takes the burden off of the taxpayer and forces polluters to pay for the damages caused by natural disasters that have been amplified by climate change.
The chapter collected 325 petition signatures and chapter leader Chloe Banaag was interviewed by NBC 7 News and Daylight San Diego about the campaign. In total, the event generated four media hits!!
MOST CREATIVE EVENT:
Evergreen State College – The Depressed Bee
In response to the dwindling bee population on campus and lack of native wildflowers, WashPIRG student leader Sabrina Thiruvathukal dressed as a “depressed bee” and shared a sob story (“pesticides killed all my relatives!”) along with educational information about the importance of bees and how we can save them.
About 40 people took a photo-petition to support the campaign – an impressive number of actions for Evergreen’s small campus and one of their most successful events of the year! Participants included the college’s Dean of Students, two campus police officers, and the Assistant Director for the Center for Climate Action and Sustainability on campus.
More Youth Earth Week Events
University of Washington – Earth Day Carnival
WashPIRG joined over a dozen organizations for an Earth Day carnival at the University of Washington. The chapter held two different action stations: One for the Earth and Energy campaign where students could spin a wheel for a prize and write to their legislators about the Recycling Reform Act, and another for the Save Our Orcas campaign, where students signed a petition to breach the Lower Snake River dams to protect orca populations. Thirteen WashPIRG volunteers participated!
UC Irvine – Earth Week Video
CALPIRG at UCI posted a student-made video on their social media accounts promoting Youth Earth Week. Students from the chapter compiled videos that they recorded of nature and sent them to chapter student Skye Ramos who edited them into a reel. The video was an effective way to spread the word about CALPIRG and Youth Earth Week and allowed multiple students from the UCI chapter to share some of their favorite videos of nature. The video has over 70 likes on TikTok and Instagram.
University of South Florida – St. Petersburg – Florida Aquarium
High school student and future University of South Florida -St. Petersburg Save the Whales Coordinator Madison Wurthner partnered with the Florida Aquarium to host an educational table about protecting Rice’s whales and how to create a Vertical Oyster Garden. She helped educate more than 200 kids and parents about the importance of protecting Florida’s oceans.
University of Missouri
PIRG at the University of Missouri held a thrift shop event where students could purchase used clothing and take photo petitions against fast fashion. Over 150 students participated and helped the club raise $100 to donate to Americares.
UC Berkeley – Upcycling
CALPIRG at UC Berkeley held an upcycling event for the Waste Is Out Of Fashion campaign where over 40 students were invited to come and repair/adorn their clothes at five different stations including: repair/embroidery, hemming/alterations, sock monkey, bead embroidery, and jewelry making. They also handed out flyers about legislation to address fast fashion. The theme was “Waste is out, sustainability is in!”
UC Berkeley – Aquarium of the Bay
CALPIRG at UC Berkeley also held a press conference at Aquarium of the Bay for the Protect Our Oceans campaign. Speakers included State Senator Scott Wiener, a representative of State Senator Josh Becker, UC Berkeley professor Rachel R. Carlson, and Berkeley City Council member Igor Tregub. After the press event, students also went on a discounted tour through the aquarium to visit some amazing ocean life!
UMass Boston – Solar Expansion Celebration
MASSPIRG at UMass Boston joined the UMB office of Campus Planning and Sustainability to celebrate the campus expanding its solar energy capabilities to install a 1-MW solar facility and a lithium-ion storage system on campus. This project, part of UMass Boston’s Energy and Carbon Master Plan, aims to reduce energy costs, increase campus resiliency, and reduce reliance on fossil fuel. The project is part of a broader initiative to reduce energy consumption and transition to cleaner energy sources, aligning with UMass Boston’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Rutgers New Brunswick – Sustainability Show
NJPIRG partnered with RU Thrifty at Rutgers University for a sustainability event where students took action against fast fashion and modeled sustainable outfits. Check out a video clip of some of the outfits here. More than 40 people attended. NJPIRG volunteers effectively and efficiently spoke to attendees at the fashion show about the wastefulness of fast fashion, educating people about the importance of sustainable practices in fashion.
About
Since Earth Day was founded in 1970, students have been on the forefront of change to protect our environment. Today, we face numerous environmental crises, from climate change, to air and water pollution, to the destruction of ecosystems critical to all life on Earth. That’s why we’re organizing events across the country to call for bold action to protect our environment and public health.
Youth Earth Week is a project of the Student PIRGs. For nearly 50 years we’ve helped students to get organized, mobilized and energized so they can continue to be on the cutting edge of positive change.