On Friday, March 31, Dickinson will host the Sustainability Expo from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM on Britton Plaza. The event will be a celebration of sustainability achievements for the school administration, students and broader community.

According to Allison Maurice ’25, Sustainability Projects Intern for the Center for Sustainability Education (CSE), “the Sustainability Expo is really going to be a block party for sustainability in our community, it’ll be filled with fun activities away from classes, food, music, positive energy and hope for the future of sustainability in Carlisle and on campus!” 

Additionally, Lindsey Lyons, Director of Sustainable Learning, shared that the event will feature a mix of organizations and businesses from Dickinson and the Carlisle community. This means clubs from campus will be present as well as businesses like the C-Luv thrift shop and Sunella, a refill shop on Hanover Street. Another goal is to highlight more student entrepreneurs on campus. Any student who has a business is welcome to reserve a table and sell their items. 

Each group’s table will highlight different aspects of sustainability or how their organization relates to it. They will provide fun ways to relate with sustainability, such as through games, crafts, items for sale and more. Lyons explained that the hardest part of planning this event came from coordinating all the aspects in a sustainable way. This means that while the activities of the event should be interactive, nothing new should be bought or created just for the event. This approach can model what sustainability should look like at Dickinson and in Carlisle.

The expo will also feature several educational opportunities. This includes not only environmental impacts, but more expansive looks at all aspects of everyday life. This is joined by guidance from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Maurice notes that this is important because the UN’s SDGs “tie in so perfectly to many of the organizations and actions for students on campus. For the gender equality goal, we have groups like AAUW or Office of LGBTQ Services, but we also have Women in Economics diversifying the stage; for responsible consumption and production, we have partners like C-Luv or the Free xChange with thrifting, but we also have The Peddler who focuses on food and sustainable methods of finding community and joy. There are just so many routes to take with a phrase like ‘sustainable development,’ so we want to show Dickinson College just how much we can contribute to a sustainable future.”

The event will also have a raffle system open to all who attend. Attendees earn a raffle ticket for each table they engage with, and the tickets will be entered for various prize drawings. These prizes will range from gift cards to local businesses and restaurants to objects that promote outdoor activity, like reusable water bottles and hammocks. 

Another goal of the event is to have students and staff learn about and sign up for the 2023 Campus Eco-Challenge. The Eco-Challenge will last three weeks (April 3 to April 21), and it is a way for organizations, such as Dickinson, to have their members come together to compete to be the most sustainable. Individuals can also easily track and understand their own personal habitats with the added option of competing against their peers. The Eco-Challenge will surely be a fun way to make personal changes and see the larger impacts that they hold.

Allison also shared, “We’re still looking for partners and vendors to join us, so if people want to get involved, they can go to www.dickinson.edu/expo2023 to see our event webpage and fill out the partnership form. This event is open to anyone on campus or in the community, and we would love to have people host with us!” You can also email Allison Maurice, Lindsey Lyons, or [email protected], or direct message @cse_dickinson on Instagram with any questions.