EarthFest at CSU Connects Students to Sustainability in Action

In celebration of Earth Day, Cleveland State University brought together students, local organizations and sustainability advocates for its annual EarthFest, an interactive event designed to highlight environmentally conscious practices and inspire everyday change.

Presented by CSU’s Office of Sustainability, this year’s event featured 20 exhibitors, including representatives from the Northeast Ohio Sewer District, the Ohio Water Environment Association, Cleveland Division of Air Quality and others.

“The whole point of EarthFest is to engage students with people in the community who are doing the work to promote sustainability,” said Joe Minerd, utilities and sustainability manager at CSU. “The event is also about getting students to engage with potential career options, as well as options to be more sustainable in your daily life.”

Organizations showcased initiatives ranging from wastewater management to innovative technology, such as a Cleveland-based team developing a device that removes microplastics from washing machines before they enter the sewer system. Additional participants included electric vehicle advocacy groups and campus environmental health and safety teams.

To encourage engagement, students received passports listing the organizations in attendance at EarthFest. 

“The passports have all of the exhibitors listed, and each exhibitor has a stamp,” said Minerd. “Each student gets to walk through and talk to all the exhibitors, and then they get a stamp on their passports. Once students get so many stamps, they are entered into a prize raffle at the end. It’s kind of our way to encourage participation.”

Prizes included items such as an iPad, a rain barrel, water bottles, t-shirts and speakers. 

Stronger Together: Partners Power Sustainability at CSU

Judy Battig, a sales representative at Gateway Recycling, said EarthFest is an important opportunity for students to learn about sustainability efforts in the community.

“Cleveland State is a customer of ours, so we try to support anything that they feel is important,” said Battig. “And if we can get the youth on board, it always helps for recycling, no matter how you do it.”

Emily Rauschert, an associate professor in CSU’s Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, said the event encourages interdisciplinary thinking. 

“We usually ask students to connect their major to environmental issues, and students can do a pretty good job with that,” she said.

Her conversations with students throughout the day reflected a growing interest in hands-on environmental action, particularly gardening and plant care. As a board member of the Ohio Invasive Plants Council, Rauschert said she often recommends alternative native plants to use instead, to reduce the ecological impact of invasives.

“There have been a lot of people today, more than last year, that are interested in plants and gardening and what to do in their own yards,” she said.

New Sustainability Initiatives on Campus

A recently launched campus resource, the CSU Sustainability Collective, also was present at the event.

Mandi Goodsett, one of the organization’s co-founders and CSU’s performing arts and humanities librarian, said the collective is an employee resource group formed through human resources in spring 2026, marking a new step in the university’s sustainability efforts.

“As an employee research group, we're mainly focused on employees of CSU, but students are also welcome to join,” she said. “We want to know if students are getting enough sustainability offerings and how we can support them.”

The new organization has also hosted a webinar for students on climate anxiety, facilitated an event that brought the Cleveland Sustainability Office to campus and sponsored a session at CSU’s AI Symposium on the environmental impacts of artificial intelligence.

She acknowledged that the scale of climate challenges can feel overwhelming but stressed the value of collective effort. 

“Events like EarthFest can show that there’s actually a lot of work being done, and you can be part of it.”

EarthFest Builds Bonds Among Students

For students like Mansa Lamont Bey, EarthFest offered more than information; it fostered a sense of community.

“What I can appreciate about today’s event is the idea of bringing the student body together and communing to celebrate the Earth,” he said.

Bey is a creative writing major in the NEOMFA program who is graduating in spring 2026 and said the event also encouraged him to reflect on his own habits.

“I could get better with littering,” he said. “I think that the simplest thing that we can do is try to make sure that we pick up after ourselves.” 

He added that he was especially interested in innovations that turn waste into reusable materials.

“There is so much technology and ways of turning trash into products. I think being able to recycle and turn trash into something that we can still use is amazing.”

Beyond sustainability education, EarthFest also fostered a sense of belonging on campus.

“Just being down on campus makes me feel like I belong,” said Bey. “And it’s in a positive environment, a learning environment; having a place to go and hang out, acknowledge and celebrate the Earth between classes.”

A Sustainable Future

Beyond EarthFest, the university continues its sustainability efforts through partnerships and campus initiatives. Looking ahead, Minerd hopes to expand the event by increasing exhibitor participation and boosting community outreach.

“I’d like to see more participation next year,” he said. “I think that probably means we need to get started a little bit sooner and push for more people to show up.”

At its core, EarthFest reflects a broader message about environmental responsibility that extends beyond campus borders.

“We have one world, and it’s important to take care of it because there is no plan B,” said Minerd. “We have to save ourselves.”