‘We’re All in This Together: Eat, Shop, Support Local’

With the warmer temperatures, we all welcome with happy hearts the first signs of flowers and buds on the trees, the longer days full of sun and the return of more outdoor activities.

For 23 years, White Violet Center for Eco-Justice (WVC) and the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, have had an annual Earth Day Festival on the campus of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods to usher in spring, acknowledge all that the Earth provides for us and deliver a call to action to all members of our community.

A place to come together for support, for education, for camaraderie. For those working toward sustainability and protecting our Earth, it is a chance to be together and acknowledge the work we are all doing in one way or another to create a better world for future generations.

In that same spirit, we have also tried to extend our support and outreach by attending most of the Earth Day celebrations on the campus of Indiana State University (ISU) with the Office of Sustainability during the past 19 years.

As it has become evident in recent years, and more so now than ever, uniting your community is critical to creating change, fostering hope and encouraging action so we can continue to help our planet (our home) heal and thrive.

It has been invigorating to see our partnership with ISU’s Office of Sustainability grow each year. We have both seen our educational outreach extend not only to the students and interns who have come through our two programs but to impacting folks in our community as well.

We have doubled our efforts to reach wider audiences, provide additional opportunities for education and share resources. This year, we decided to expand our collaboration even further for our 2025 Earth Day celebrations and throughout the entire month of April to bring in the participation of as many local businesses as possible.

We chose the theme for this campaign as “We’re All in This Together: Eat, Shop, Support Local.” We have been working to line up various events and opportunities for members of our community to attend, which they can then earn prizes from participating local businesses.

The goal of our efforts is to raise awareness of the importance of supporting local businesses and organizations. “Keeping it local” is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce our footprint and create a resilient community.

Earth Day is the largest and most widely recognized environmental holiday. It is at a time when we are ready to welcome in spring and celebrate nature. It is an opportunity to reach people at a time when they are most receptive to protecting the environment.

To accomplish our goals, this year we have put together a calendar of events and promotional materials for April including a movie night on the ISU campus, alpaca yoga here at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, a weed wrangle at Hawthorn Park, in addition to our Earth Day celebration events.

Anyone wanting to participate for a chance at prizes will need to visit a locally-owned, sponsoring organization to receive a punch card. Attendees will receive punches for every event they attend. Anyone receiving at least five punches on their card can enter the raffle to win the grand prize.

We have planned events that appeal to a vast audience regardless of age or work/life schedule. We hope to connect people from all walks of life to understand the importance of being good stewards of the land and to support those in the community with whom you live, learn, play and love.

If you recognize all that surrounds and protects you and those you love, you are more likely to want to protect and love it back. Getting out in nature, walking around downtown and connecting with neighbors who rely on your business to care for their families all contribute to creating community resiliency that each of us needs right now.

Collaborations and mutualistic, symbiotic relationships are naturally occurring phenomena based on mutual respect and support.

We encourage you to look around and celebrate those partnerships in your lives, and we want to thank you for your support, impact and advocacy in the collaboration we share.

Learn more about the local sponsors, events and more by clicking here.