In April, spring begins to feel more real as buds and flowers come out and the air grows warmer. Students spend time on the quad, lying in hammocks or studying together at tables outdoors. Houghton College has planned an Arbor Day Community Festival with many events and activities to facilitate involvement during this season of renewal. Earth Day and Arbor Day invite celebration of the Earth in its springtime beauty, as well as conversations about the environment.
On Monday April 24, Houghton plans to host an Arbor Day chapel on the quad. Sustainability Director, Brian Webb, said this is most likely the first-ever outdoor chapel in Houghton’s history, and if weather permits, the experience will be unique. The speaker will be Ed Brown, an ordained minister and the executive director of an organization called Care of Creation. According to the Care of Creation website, Brown is “a talented writer and public speaker” who has traveled overseas for missions work and to spread his “deep passion for Christian environmental stewardship.” Webb said, “Ed Brown is one of the forefathers of the modern creation care movement.”
According to Webb, the outdoor chapel service is part of a wider revival of the tradition of celebrating Arbor Day in community. Webb said that Houghton had Arbor Day celebrations for decades, though it has now been close to 15 years since this tradition was part of campus life. The Arbor Day Festival on Monday will include between 15 and 20 opportunities to participate in service projects on campus throughout the day. “The basic idea is to give faculty, staff, and students an excuse to be outside and do some hands-on projects around the college,” Webb explained. He encouraged everyone to participate in projects like “planting pear trees, raking leaves, painting, laying new pathways, and trail maintenance.” He added, “I think that the Arbor Day Festival will be a really cool opportunity to get everyone engaging with one another and get the community more involved.”
The final event of the festival provides another chance to celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day outdoors. “We’re ending the day with an outdoor community picnic on the quad to encourage the community to come together,” Webb said. This event will include food, games, and the presentation of the first annual Caretaker of God’s Creation Award. A campus-wide email explained this award “aims to recognize two individuals (one student and one faculty or staff member) who actively incorporate creation care and biblical earth stewardship into both their personal lives and their participation in the Houghton College community.” The outdoor picnic will last from 5:00-6:30 and is free to attend.
Lexi Wilkas ‘19 expressed excitement about the upcoming festival, “I love how there’s a way for everyone on campus and in the community to be involved. It’s both a fun and meaningful way to enjoy the world we live in.” She added, “I’m definitely pumped for the picnic celebration!”
In addition to hosting the Arbor Day Community Festival, Houghton plans to participate in international efforts to be involved with the environment. Eleven Houghton students will attend the People’s Climate March in Washington, D. C. on April 29, according to Daniel Bellerose ‘17. Bellerose attended the People’s Climate March of 2014, which occurred on the eve of the UN Climate Summit. He said, “It was an amazing experience. It was powerful to be marching united with people from different backgrounds.” He also described how individuals from countries made vulnerable by climate change such as the Maldives and Tuvalu marched in a group to increase awareness of their situation. Webb, who helped organize a larger group of about 80 evangelicals who will be present at the march, said, “This is the first time that I know of that such a large group of evangelicals has intentionally marched for climate change.” Houghton students and the other evangelical marchers will participate in the planned march in D.C. along with an estimated half a million people, and will stay afterward to lobby representatives of congress and senate. Bellerose, who helped organize Houghton’s involvement in the 2017 Climate March, said he is looking forward to the march as an energizing event that will “get people excited about these issues again.”