LSU Holding Spring Greening Day & Sustainability Expo April 20

Call for volunteers to beautify area in front of Student Union

BATON ROUGE – Campus Sustainability will host its annual Spring Greening Day & Sustainability Expo on Thursday, April 20 from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in front of the Student Union. Students, staff, and faculty are asked to volunteer to assist Landscape Services staff in planting and beautifying the area in front of the Student Union from Highland Road to Tower Drive. The planting and mulching that takes place on SGD creates landscapes that offer both an aesthetic benefit and ecological significance to the soil, wildlife, and water quality on campus.

A Sustainability Expo will also held at Free Speech Circle in conjunction with the event. Students, faculty, staff, and businesses will be given an opportunity to present research, provide information on student organizations, introduce green products, and highlight companies modeling sustainability within their business practices.

More than 12,000 native and perennial plants will be planted by volunteers in an area that covers 17,000 sq. ft. of grounds. A portion of the funding for plants came from a Keep Louisiana Beautiful Beautification Grant awarded to LSU earlier this year. The purpose of this grant is to create beautiful, well-maintained gardens and plantings to promote community pride and improve the appearance of communities and universities. Additional funding for the plants was received from LSU Auxiliary Services.  

Through sponsorship from LSU Dining, lunch is being provided for all volunteers. Volunteers will also receive a Spring Greening Day t-shirt from Campus Sustainability, while supplies last. One hour volunteer shifts are available, and multiple shifts are welcomed and encouraged! Any students, staff or faculty interested in volunteering this year can visit lsu.edu/sustainability to register.

Previous Spring Greening Day events have beautified Tower Drive and the green spaces in front of Howe Russell, Life Sciences, Patrick F. Taylor, and the Memorial Oaks area behind the Student Union. 

The Student Union was chosen as the SGD project site this year because it is the center hub of student activity on campus. This is also the space where prospective students and their families are welcomed to LSU through events such as Spring Invitational, Orientation, and Welcome Week.

LSU is one of the first eight universities designated as a Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate. The University Affiliate program was developed in 2021 in response to a growing interest in sustainability, waste reduction, and litter prevention at the university level. Being a Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate is a special mark of distinction and represents a commitment by the university to continual improvement in sustainability and environmental issues, promoting student environmental stewardship and engagement, and rigorous outcome measurement.

For more information, please contact sustainability@lsu.edu.