Happy Earth Month, Skyline College! In honor of our beautiful planet, the Skyline College Earth Day Every Day group held a series of events, including our 4th annual Earth Fest, to raise awareness and engage our campus in sustainability and environmentalism efforts. Thank you to everyone who assisted and/or joined in!
Throughout the month, we collected clothing & shoe donations for our free thrift shop at Earth Fest, gathering and re-homing fun items with happy new owners. The Museum of Tomorrow provided facts about fast fashion and its severe environmental impact, and our shoppers left with more information and a new-to-them free item.
Shoes can still be collected at our Shoe Donation boxes around campus. Gently used shoes will be donated, and well-used shoes will be repaired or recycled. Find our boxes by the ground floor Wall of Fame in Building 3, in the Learning Center in Building 5, and on the first floor by the division office in Building 7.
We also hosted a presentation from our local chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby. Our presenter Elaine Salinger shared facts about our climate situation, ideas for actionable solutions, tools to learn and act, and motivation on how our students can individually make a difference to protect their homes and environments. One of the main features of the presentation was the Enroads Simulator, where students could toggle different factors like energy, industry, population, transportation, deforestation, and carbon dioxide removal to see how it impacted emissions and global temperature rise.
A series of watch parties on sustainability topics was also presented throughout the month. We screened films in Fireside Dining on a variety of topics, including water, food waste, and sustainable transportation. These films are free to screen through YouTube or Kanopy – consider using these in your own classroom! These important topics span many fields of study and affect us all.
Our main event of the month was, of course, Earth Fest! Our 4th annual Earth Fest fell on Earth Day itself for the first time and included a wide cast of Skyline College, SMCCCD, and community volunteers. Students were able to explore the tables and exhibits featuring an array of activities, giveaways, treats, games, local opportunities, and information. Highlights included:
- Climate Carnival provided a fun set of hand-built games created from reclaimed wood, designed to engage in fun while prompting climate discussion, teamwork, and reflection
- Pacific Beach Coalition’s exhibits on local whales and steelhead trout with opportunities for students in local beach cleanups and habitat restoration
- SamTrans provided information on free & discounted public transit options with adorable train- and bus-themed prizes
- Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy advertised their upcoming hike in the nearby Mori Point Superbloom and shared information, goodies, and volunteer opportunities related to local flora and fauna.
- Citizen’s Climate Lobby presented information, activities and volunteering opportunities for students to get active about the environment now
- Closet provided a free thrifting opportunity for our students, discussing the impact of the fast-fashion industry on our planet and offering free clothes and shoes to spice up their own wardrobe.
- SMCCD Sustainability Team engaged students in imagining a clean energy future with their interactive exhibits like SIM Mateo and Electra House
- Earth Day Every Day’s table glued everything together with a fun Bingo opportunity for exploring the event, spin-the-wheel giveaway prizes, and planter painting, planting, and macrame!
Our final event of Earth Month was Skyline College’s 2nd Sustainable Transportation Expo, featuring representatives from TELO Trucks, SamTrans, and Commute.org, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles driven by our very own Skyline community. Students were able to chat about sustainable transit options available in our community, as well as consider future choices for how they can incorporate the environment into everyday activities like commuting.
Thank you to all our volunteers who helped put on all of our great events, and thank you to all who attended! Thank you also to the 2025-2026 President’s Innovation Fund for supporting these events, and to the SMCCCF for the Mini Grant helping fund our reusable utensil pouches. We hope that everyone’s takeaways from our event — physical items acquired, information and opportunities gained, and inspiration and motivation planted — will help you make every day Earth Day.
Interested in sustainability opportunities at Skyline College? Students can join the S.A.G.E club and staff /faculty can reach out to Earth Day Every Day at earthdayeveryday@my.smccd.edu for more information on how to get involved.
