1. Sustainability Office
  2. Events

Events

 

Events with a sustainability focus occur year-round.  For Spring 2020, in recognition of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, UNC Charlotte events will constitute an "Earth Semester".  For more information and a calendar view of Earth Semester events, go to earthsemester.uncc.edu.  Contact Tyler Sytsma for ways you can participate, or add your event to this page.

Upcoming Events:

JANUARY 2020

FILM SCREEN WITH A DEAN: "What the Health"

Tue., January 28, Time: 4:00pm-6:30pm
Cone Building, McKnight Hall

Presented by Catrine Tudor-Locke, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services.  After the film screening, a panel will discuss the controversial nature of this documentary from health, sustainability, social justice, persuasive communication, and business perspectives.  

EPIC ENERGY SEMINAR SERIES: Emerging eT&D Grids: Energy Storage, Electrification, and the Increasing Role of Power Electronics

Wed., January 29, Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
EPIC Building, Auditorium G256

Presentation by Babu Chalamala of the Sandia National Laboratory. 

SPEAKER SERIES: Understanding Disparities in an Urbanizing World Speaker Series

Thurs., January 30, Time: 3:00pm-5:30pm
Popp Martin Student Union, Union Theater
Presentation by Naeema Muhammad, the Organizing Co-Director of the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN)
NCEJN promotes health and environmental equality for all people of North Carolina through community action. Co-sponsored by the Department of Public Health Sciences, the Department of Geography & Earth Sciences, and the Urban Institute. Presentation from 3:00-4:30pm followed by a short reception from 4:30-5:30pm.
 

FEBRUARY 2020

URBAN ROOTS: Transforming the Urban Landscape

Sat., February 1, Time: 8:15am-3:30pm
Center City Building

The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens invites you to join them for the third Botanical Gardens’ symposium. This year’s symposium will investigate many important topics for the urban and suburban environment, including urban ecosystems, urban farming, regenerative agriculture and permaculture and more. Registration required.

PERSONALLY SPEAKING: Shakespeare and Ecofeminist Theory

Tue., February 4, Time: 6:00pm-8:00pm
Center City Building, Auditorium TBD

Presentation by Jennifer Munroe of the Department of English.  Open to the public without charge, but registration is required. There will be a reception from 6–7 pm, the program starts at 7 pm, with a dessert reception and book-signing following the author’s presentation.

EPIC ENERGY SEMINAR SERIES: Electrification of Transportation in Rural North Carolina

Wed., February 5, Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
EPIC Building, Auditorium G256

Presentation by Thomas Golden of EnergyUnited EMC. 

GANACHE IN THE GARDENS: a Chocolate Celebration

Sat., February 8, Time: 11:00am-4:00pm
McMillan Greenhouse and Friday Building

Free and open to the public!  Join the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens for a celebration of chocolate just in time for Valentine’s Day. Learn about the cocoa tree and how its fruits are processed into delectable confections. Romantic music, a movie, and free samples will enhance your experience. Be sure to visit our orchid display in its annual flowering glory! And don’t forget to bring your sweetie! Free chocolate samples. Free hot cocoa. Free Presentations and Performances. Plus, the annual Orchid Sale will run from February 8-14, 2019, during normal Greenhouse operating hours, while supplies last.

DARWIN DAY SYMPOSIUM

Wed., February 12, Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
Student Activities Center, Room 334A

Join us for the Darwin Day Symposium (with an Earth Semester theme).  

EPIC ENERGY SEMINAR SERIES: Energy Policy

Tue., February 18, Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
EPIC Building, Auditorium TBD

Presentation by Steve Kalland of the NC Clean Energy Technology Center. 

GEOGRAPHY & EARTH SCIENCES SEMINAR SERIES: Schools Saving Species: From the Rural South to the Southern Hemisphere

Fri., February 21, Time: 1:30pm-2:30pm
McEniry Building, Auditorium TBD

Presentation by Dr. Luke Dollar, Professor and Chair of the Environment & Sustainability Program at Catawba College.  Dr. Dollar is a wildlife biologist and conservationist, and a National Geographic Explorer. His scientific research focuses on carnivores including big cats and satellite analyses of their habitat. He has contributed to grassroots education and sustainable employment programs for local people sharing space with Africa’s predators.

EPIC ENERGY SEMINAR SERIES: NC Renewable Transition

Tue., February 25, Time: 5:00pm-6:30pm
EPIC Building, Auditorium TBD

Presentation by Sasha Weintraub, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Natural Gas Business Unit at Duke Energy Corporation 

FILM SCREEN WITH A DEAN: "The Great Hack"

Wed., February 26, Time: 4:00pm-6:30pm
Cone Building, McKnight Hall

Join Dr. Fatma Mili, College of Computing and Informatics Dean, for a FREE screening of "The Great Hack," which Rolling Stone said will leave you with, "...a very clear sense of how one company aided and abetted the selling of democracy down the river, not to mention having your fingernails chewed down to the quick." The screening will be followed by an interactive panel discussion of the film, how data is - and can be - weaponized for political gain and what it means for the future of democracy.

LIBRARY BOOK SALE

Fri.-Sat., February 28-29
Atkins Library, Halton Reading Room

Re-use cuts waste! Large selection of duplicate and carefully selected items including academic monographs, paperbacks, children’s literature, LPs, and DVDs. Details will be announced soon.

MARCH 2020

PARTICLE FALLS

Fridays in March - 6, 13, 20, and 27.  Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm
Center City Building

Live art performance meets environmental science.  Along with our partners, Clean Air Carolina, Andrea Polli's installation "Particle Falls: Air Made Visible" returns to Charlotte.  

STUDY ABROAD WEEK

March 16-20 (see details on his webpage)
In celebration of the 50th Earth Day, consider how other parts of our planet can be part of your education. Through live webinars and in-person events, learn firsthand from Office of Education Abroad staff and from students who have studied abroad. All Study Abroad Week events are free to attend and are open to UNC Charlotte students, parents, faculty and staff.
 

TREE CAMPUS USA DAY

Thu., March 19
Help the campus increase its tree cover, while beautifying campus and learning from campus landscaping experts.  Great team-building opportunities for your department, group, club or course.  Project places and times to be announced.
 

APRIL 2020

EARTH DAY FESTIVAL

Wed., April 1,  Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
Belk Plaza

Meet 50+ community, state, and campus organizations working for a sustainable world.  If you missed it last year, it will be bigger and better for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020!

I AM INUIT, PHOTOGRAPHS BY BRIAN ADAMS

Fri. April 3, Time: 6:00-8:30pm (Reception)
 (Exhibit open March 27-June 26)
Center City Building, Projective Eye Gallery
This exhibition features the work of Anchorage-based Iñupiaq editorial and commercial photographer Brian Adams, who specializes in environmental portraiture and medium-format photography. Adams travels to Inuit communities throughout the Alaska Arctic to capture Inuit (Iñupiat, Yup’ik, Cup’ik and St. Lawrence Island Yupik) life, culture, and society through photographs and short stories.  A reception will be held on Friday April 3, 6:00-8:30 p.m.
 

CAMPUS CLEANUP

Thu.,  April 9,  Time: 10:00am-2:00pm
McMillan Greenhouse, Holshauser Hall, Motorsports Lab

Organized by the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling.  Volunteer as an individual or bring a group. This is a great way to give back to your UNC Charlotte community, gain service hours, or get some exercise walking around campus. Snacks will be provided for volunteers, as well as gloves, bags, and litter sticks to get the job done. Multiple locations around campus. 

NC BREATHE CONFERENCE

Thu.,  April 9,  Time: 8:00am-4:30pm
Center City Building
(Registration required: $25 Student, $75 General) UNC Charlotte is hosting Clean Air Carolinas' 2020 NC Breathe Conference.  As part of National Public Health Week, the theme is "Health, Equity, and the Climate Crisis in North Carolina". Keynote speakers include William Barber III from The Climate Reality Project, Gregory Kearney from East Carolina University, and Mona Sarfaty from the George Mason Center for Climate Communication. 
 

PLANT SALE

Fri., April 10 to Sat. Apr. 11,  Time: 9:00am-3:00pm
(Member pre-sale on Thu. April 9, noon-3:00pm)

Shop from an exceptional array of plants at our largest sale of the year! This is a great opportunity to ask our knowledgeable staff lots of questions! All proceeds support the operations of the gardens and greenhouse, where admission is always free.

AUDUBON NORTH CAROLINA SUMMIT

Fri., April 17 to Sun. Apr. 19
(Near-campus: Hilton Charlotte University Place, 8629 J.M. Keynes Drive)

Hosted by Mecklenburg Audubon Society. Join the flock at the 2020 Audubon North Carolina Summit for workshops, field trips, and social events.  Paid registration is required; scholarships are available for college students in North Carolina. 

EARTH OPTIMISM 2020 CLT

Wed.,  April 22,  Time: 7:30am-10:00am
Center City Building
(Registration requested) Kick off Earth Day with a healthy serving of hope and optimism. UNC Charlotte is co-hosting with the Carolina Raptor Center our first Charlotte offering of The Smithsonian Institution's Earth Optimism series: "Earth Optimism celebrates a change in focus from problem to solution, from a sense of loss to one of hope, in the dialogue about conservation and sustainability".  This event will showcase Charlotte-area organizations to celebrate local, replicable success stories for saving the planet.
 
GARDENS AND VERSES
 
Thu., April 23,  Time: 11:30am-1:30pm
Botanical Gardens
For the third year, the UNC Charlotte English Department is co-sponsoring with the Botanical Gardens the popular “Gardens and Verses”, performances that focus on the relationship between humans and the nonhuman world.
 
 

PARTY FOR THE PLANET

Thu., April 28,  Time: 5:00pm-9:00pm
Belk Plaza

Student Gathering sponsored by the Earth Club. Capping off Earth Semester and our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day!