Belmont University has been celebrating Earth Day 2018 with its inaugural Sustainability Week, which will wrap up on Saturday, April 21. Hosted by the university’s Sustainability Committee,this year’s events have provided an opportunity for all members of the Belmont community to engage with the Conservation Covenant, the university’s commitment to honor God’s creation.

Launched in 2015, the Conservation Covenant is a charge for the university to honor the environment and take care of what it’s been given. This year’s Sustainability Week will see many events, intentionally created to engage the campus community in dialogue surrounding conservation.

According to the university: “At Belmont University, we believe taking care of God’s creation is more than a cause. It’s a charge. Which is why we serve as an arboretum to preserve more than 100 species of trees and shrubs, and carefully manage water usage for irrigation. It’s why we build and maintain green roofs and construct new buildings to LEED-certified standards. And why we utilize geothermal energy and other innovative systems to heat and cool parts of campus. We think of it as a covenant (the Conservation Covenant) to take good care of that which takes such good care of us.”

This year’s events included: a Creek Clean-up hosted by Belmont’s student-run Eco Club; screening of The Slow Food Story, a documentary centered around an international fast food resistance movement; An Arbor Day Celebration and Campus Tree/Bird Walk featuring Belmont Horticulturist Mary Weber and local birder Dr. Frank Fekel; a keynote address by Tradd Cotter, microbiologist and mycologist, who presented ‘Fanning the Flame: Focusing Your Passion for Research into Disruptive Technology’; and a prayer service.

The week will wrap up with an Earth Day Celebration Chapel on Friday, April 20 at 10 am in the Janet Ayers Academic Center Chapel and a Family Fun Day on Saturday for university staff.