Every year on April 22, billions of people worldwide celebrate mother earth and all the beauty that she has to offer. Here at USF, The Office of Sustainability kicked things off early, bringing students a dynamic celebration pulsing with a sense of community and a passion for change. The 2026 celebration theme of ‘Nature Within’ was a nod to the intersection of humanity, belonging and nature.
Students, faculty and community members gathered in McLaren on April 21 to celebrate Earth Day. Attendees were greeted at the entrance with friendly goats grazing outside and met with a snake inside, turning the conference room into an ecological paradise.
“This is my last Earth Day and I’ve been working at the Office of Sustainability since I was a freshman so it feels like a big deal,” said Lauren Crane, a senior politics major and sustainability specialist at the Office of Sustainability. “Our theme this year is Nature Within so it’s celebrating the ways that humans are a part of the environment and interact with the environment which I think is really important because it’s important for humans to know that they have a responsibility to steward the environment and to be celebrated,” said Crane.
There were various booths inside McLaren, many of which were run by student organizations around campus. Upon entry, attendees were offered sustainable swag. “Punch-cards” were handed out at the doors with 10 spaces each. Those who visited 10 booths and got stamps at each one received a free Earth Day tote.
Some booths took an appreciative approach to earth day. For example, Hiveminders Club had a honey tasting booth with honey harvested from the beehives at the community garden. On the other hand, others focused their celebration on advocacy. USF Votes had a booth with information about California voter registration and environmental initiatives on upcoming ballots. Regardless of what the traditional focus of certain student organizations usually are, each one flawlessly incorporated environmental sustainability into their representation at the event.
USF Earth Day would have been incomplete without the soundtrack from the student band “The Crashouts.” The band’s live performance furthered the feeling of togetherness at the event by giving everyone something to dance to while they made their way through McLaren.
“So my band, The Crashouts, is more of a recent development,” said Elizabeth Fox, a senior media studies major and member of The Crashouts. “Over the summer, my friend Kieran texted our group chat and said that he wanted to bring the band back together. Everyone was excited at the idea to reform the band from sophomore year with a couple new additions. The band includes myself on rhythm guitar, Alex on lead guitar, Kieran on bass, Beatrice and Sean on vocals, Mailee on drums, and Nico and Owen on saxophone/piano. This semester we were approached by Miranda at KUSF to play at Earth Day,” said Fox.
There was truly something for everyone. Arts and crafts were another common theme seen at the event. Craft Club had a booth where students could make pipe cleaner flowers and another booth offered an opportunity to decorate tin wallets with stickers. The Office of Sustainability also had a table where students could use a button-making machine and make their own custom pins.
Additionally, there were booths with representatives from different environmental advocacy groups, non-profits and companies around the Bay Area. Recology, the waste-management company, had a booth where attendees could learn more about proper waste etiquette. The non-profit organization, San Francisco Transit Riders, were there to inform attendees about the upcoming initiative surrounding funding for BART and Muni for San Francisco voters. Many passionate users of San Francisco public transit eagerly surrounded the SFTR booth to learn more about eco-friendly transportation, and walked away with a pin of their favorite Muni line.
