By Ada Popham and Mia Sugimoto

Every April, the University of Utah’s Office for Sustainability Education coordinates campus-wide events for students, faculty, staff, and community members to celebrate and enjoy Earth Month. Office for Sustainability Education signature events encouraged participants to connect, learn, and take action through hands-on activities and meaningful conversations about sustainability.

In addition to the featured events, campus and community partners hosted their own events. From new events like Guns to Gardens, where previously surrendered firearms were transformed into gardening tools, to annual events like Declutter Day, where the wider Salt Lake community comes together to responsibly recycle old electronics, medications, shred documents, and donate household goods. Earth Month is all about connection and action. These collaborative efforts brought the university community together to make a positive impact for a more sustainable future before the school year came to a close.

Looking back at some of the highlights from the signature events of Earth Month 2026: Sustainability is Always in Fashion, we have a better understanding of just a few of the many ways the campus community showed up for the planet. 

Thrift Pop Up (April 2)    

We kicked off Earth Month with a student favorite event. Over 750 pounds of donated clothing items and accessories were housed in the Union West Ballroom, where students, faculty, and staff could stop by, enjoy a small treat, and browse the overflowing tables of secondhand clothing. The event gave the campus community an opportunity to take home new-to-them items and refresh their wardrobe while reducing textile waste and giving the donated clothing a second life, all free of charge!

Ecofest! Thrifted Fashion Show (April 8)

In collaboration with the University of Utah’s Fashion in Business club, EcoFest! was a creative fashion show where designers crafted outfits entirely from thrifted clothing, collected via campus clothing drive.

During the event, students enjoyed food while mingling and chatting with local sustainability organizations and clubs, including Red Butte Garden, Utah Students for Conservation, and the Utah River Council, to learn about sustainability issues, programs, and upcoming events. Attendees then watched models bring their designers’ visions to life on the runway.

Catherine Bao, a University of Utah student and one of the stylists, put together a flowy, spring-inspired collection, while other designers explored a range of aesthetics—from business casual to bold, creative looks. EcoFest! proved that sustainability and style aren’t mutually exclusive; even thrifted clothes can be fashionable and trendy!

Sustainable & Stylish Earth Month Panel (April 15)

What does sustainability look like in the world of fashion? This engaging panel explored the environmental and social impacts of fast fashion while highlighting ways individuals and organizations are working towards a more sustainable future. 

Panelists, from campus partners to local sustainable fashion advocates and brands, shared insights on textile waste and building more mindful habits around your clothing consumption. Attendees had the opportunity to ask big questions about sustainability’s role in the fashion industry, learn ways to reduce their own impact, rethink their relationship with fashion and explore how personal style and sustainability go hand in hand. 

Season Opening: Growing together in Creativity (April 16 &17)

Students and campus community members joined Jill Simkins and the Edible Campus Gardens for a two-day workshop series. Despite the snowy weather on day one, participants gathered to learn the foundations of nature journaling. Simkins shared her background and personal journaling practice, explaining how nature journaling has become a meaningful way for her to slow down, observe and connect more deeply with her environment. Over time, Simkins noticed that journaling was also informative to her work on the farm, as it helped identify and document seasonal changes and the year-to-year patterns. Afterwards, the participants had the chance to collage and customize their own journals in preparation for the second day of the workshop series.

Day two brought warmer weather and more opportunities for understanding and creative exploration. Simkins introduced a variety of journaling techniques and her personal approach to helping individuals discover what journaling methods feel natural to use, emphasizing that each person’s journaling style is unique. After leading a series of art warm-ups, she taught attendees different watercolor techniques to follow while observing the different plants and nature materials gathered for the event, helping participants build skills to support their own nature journaling journeys.

The two-day garden-based art workshop created a low-stakes space for creative mindfulness and connection while encouraging participants to slow down and thoughtfully engage with the world around them in new ways.

Stitch & Bitch (April 21)

Stitch & Bitch was our final signature event, bringing attendees together to learn how to mend and repair clothing—a timely skill in a world where it’s all too easy to toss out clothes that are perfectly fixable. Logan Dunford, a student ambassador at the Office for Sustainability Education, walked attendees through a variety of stitching techniques, from patching holes to replacing a missing button. Tiare Mitchell then led a thoughtful discussion on fashion and climate justice, exploring how past and present choices shape what we can do going forward. Stitch & Bitch was a reminder that mending your clothes isn’t just good for the environment—it’s genuinely fun, and a welcome hobby in a screen-filled world.

Earth Month 2026 was full of energy, learning, and community. We could not have done it without our incredible student interns, volunteers, committee members, and partners. As we look ahead to Earth Month 2027, we are excited to keep growing these traditions and creating new opportunities for engagement. 

Thank you for making sustainability a priority at the U. Stay tuned for more updates as we plan next year’s events—and in the meantime, keep finding ways to live your values and make an impact every day.