Turn Your Screen Time into Green Time
Each year, campus blooms with the coming spring, and the Office of Sustainability facilitates a campus wide celebration to honor Earth Day and the changing seasons at Wake Forest.
We hope you join us for our 2026 Celebration of Spring, with events and opportunities designed to celebrate, inspire, and gather in community.
Learn more about our signature events below, and find more ways to get involved throughout the semester on Instagram.
Additional opportunities, stories, and events will be added as we emerge into spring.
Seeds of Change
The first seeds for change were planted in 1970 during what we be known as the first Earth Day. Wake Foresters buried a combustion engine and joined 20 million Americans in highlighting the inextricable links between environmental pollution and public health with a full day of teach-ins on campus.
Read the reflections of modern day Wake Foresters as we celebrate Earth Day 2026, and look back on past moments with us in these seeds of thought:
- A history of sustainability at WFU
- Visit our archival exhibit at ZSR Library
- Earth as the Greatest Collaborator
- Finding Hope: The Clean Air Act
More stories to come; stay tuned!
Events & Opportunities
- Champions of Change | March 18, 3:00 – 4:00pm @The Green Room, Reynolda Hall | Learn more
- First Day of Spring | March 20
- Forsyth Creek Week | March 21 – 29 @ Various Locations | Learn more
- Spring Equinox Festival| March 22, 4:00 – 6:00pm @The Campus Garden | Learn more
- Food Access in Our Community Pop-Up | March 23, 11:30 – 1:30pm @Campus Kitchen Lounge Patio
- Climate Change as Large-Scale Social Transformation | March 30, 3:30 – 5:00pm @ZSR Library Room 404 | Free and open to the public
- Green Apron Teaching Kitchen | March 31, 5:00 – 6:00pm @The Campus Garden | Register for free
- Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour | April 1, 7:00pm @Brendle Recital Hall | Learn more
- Nature Walk | April 2, 1:00pm @Benson 311 | Learn more
- Women’s Tennis “Green Game” | April 3, 4:00pm | @Tennis Courts
- Plant-Based Milkshake Monday | April 13, 12:00 – 12:30pm @Shorty’s
- Game Changers Outdoor Movie Night | April 13, 7 – 9pm @Manchester Plaza
- Earth Talks | April 15, 5:00 – 6:30pm @Pugh Auditorium, Benson University Center | Register for free
- Party for the Planet | April 15, 11:00am – 1:00pm @The Pit Patio
- Birding Walk | April 17, 10:00 – 10:50am @Winston Hall and Reynolda Trails
- PEA Earth Day Fair | April 18, 10:00am – 4:00pm @Winston-Salem Fairgrounds | Learn more
- Earth Day | April 22 | Learn more
- Connect & Cultivate Volunteer Hours | Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:00-6:00pm and Sundays, 3:00-4:00pm @The Campus Garden | Learn more
Our Signature Events
Champions of Change
📍 Wednesday, March 18, 3 – 4pm, The Green Room in Reynolda Hall
Each year, the Office of Sustainability recognizes campus change agents who work as “Champions of Change” to create a more adaptable and resilient Wake Forest community.
Join us for the announcement of our 13th annual Champions of Change award winners and celebratory reception! All Wake Forest students, faculty, and staff are welcome.
Spring Equinox Festival
📍Sunday, March 22, 4 – 6pm, The Campus Garden (1141 Polo Rd)
Welcome the transition to spring at this event featuring live music, crafts led by campus and community organizations, plant-forward food, and feathered friends. This year’s festival will incorporate our annual Arbor Day observance with the planting of three new trees at the Campus Garden.
All members of the Wake Forest University community — students, faculty, staff, and their families — are invited to join in!
Earth Talks
📍Wednesday, April 15, 5 – 6:30pm, Pugh Auditorium in Benson University Center
Earth Talks is a series of short, student-led presentations that are focused on sustainability topics. Each talk is led by a Wake Forest student or group of students who are eager to share their knowledge, passions, or research with others in the Wake Forest community.
Reflections from Campus
If You Like Clean Air, Thank the 1970 Clean Air Act!
by Stan Meiburg (’75), Executive Director Emeritus, Andrew Sabin Family Center for Environment and Sustainability
When the Earth Answers Back: Earth as the Greatest Collaborator
by J. Aaron Hardwick, D.M.A, Symphony Orchestra Director and Assistant Teaching Professor of Music
Related Posts
- 17 Champion of Change Awardees Celebrated at Annual Campus Sustainability Awards
By Reese Lile (‘28), sustainability staff writer On Wednesday, March 18, students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Reynolda Hall for the 13th annual Champions […] - Spring Celebration 2026
Turn Your Screen Time into Green Time Each year, campus blooms with the coming spring, and the Office of Sustainability facilitates a campus wide celebration to honor […] - Call for Proposals: Earth Talks 2026Spark your curiosity and ignite your campus; Earth Talks 2026 is now accepting proposals! Earth Talks is a series of short, student-led presentations on a variety of […]
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for? / And have you changed your life?
Mary Oliver, The Swan