OSU Office of Sustainability and Student Government Association hosts Earth Day event

OSU Office of Sustainability and Student Government Association hosts Earth Day event

Monday, April 28, 2025

Media Contact: Shannon Rigsby | Associate Director of Public Information | 405-744-9081 | shannon.rigsby@okstate.edu

On Tuesday, April 22, the Oklahoma State University Office of Sustainability and Student Government Association Sustainability teamed up to host an Earth Day event at the Student Union North Plaza Amphitheater.

Over 20 groups and clubs handed out prizes and offered a variety of interactive activities at their tables.

"Earth Day, to me, is like a big magnifying glass on all the things we do on campus, which is work with energy services and landscape services to do good things for the environment," said Katie Beitz, Office of Sustainability coordinator.

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 that promotes environmental protection and raises awareness about the importance of preserving our planet. It has been held since 1970 and is observed worldwide. The 2025 theme was "Our Power, Our Planet."

OSU ranks 91st in the Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges regarding sustainability.

"There is always room for improvement here in Oklahoma, but I love to see the progress we make, and every year we do a sustainability report, we get a better grade every time," Beitz said.

The OSU campus is known for its numerous green spaces and thousands of trees. The Department of Landscape Services works year-round to maintain the campus and is always looking for ways to make the university more sustainable while remaining an efficient institution.

"Landscaping services do a really good job at recycling and reusing. They compost all the leaves they gather on campus, which helps the environment," said Erin MacDonald, Office of Sustainability Campus engagement and communications intern.

OSU has been awarded a silver rating from the AASHE Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System for nine years and also ranks first in Impact Rankings, among other awards, which can be found here.

"I've been to a lot of different campuses, and I think that the landscaping here is absolutely gorgeous, there's a lot of green space, which I love and I know most students here appreciate that," OSU junior Evan Zeleny said.

Story By: Taylor Mabray | taylor.mabray@okstate.edu