Nico Rivera
Features Editor
On Sunday Sept. 21, the Office of Sustainability hosted its “Sun Day” event to mark the 2025 Autumnal Equinox. Held at the Learning Garden Pavilion, the public event brought together student organizations and local community members who care about environmental issues while commemorating the beginning of the astronomical autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Activities included lawn games, coloring sheets, community tabling and an extensive ice cream “Sun-Dae” bar.
Brian Webb, the director of campus sustainability, spoke about the other Sun Day celebrations happening across the country. “There’s a group of environmental organizations around the country that were trying to launch simultaneous events on September 21, and I’d heard about this and wanted to host a Sun Day here in Wooster … we’re just one of hundreds of Sun Day events happening today.”
Webb worked to include community members and organizations in the shared celebration. “We reached out to some community organizations to advertise the event, trying to bring the College and the community together … just trying to liaise with like-minded groups in the area.”
One community organization present was the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which held an informational table to connect with Wooster students. Jay Klemme, a retired physician living in Wooster, was helping run the table as a member of the organization.
“I’m very concerned about the state of the planet; I regard it as something that affects everyone independent of politics or ideology or anything else,” Klemme shared. “Citizen Climate Lobby is a nonpartisan group that values relationships with people anywhere on the political spectrum because we all share a planet.”
The organization regularly travels to Washington, D.C., to participate in the Climate Change Conferences, speak with elected representatives about responding to climate change and train young members to build leadership skills and strengthen their advocacy. The Citizens’ Climate Lobby currently has two bills moving through Congress and has lobbied for nine bills and acts that have since successfully passed into law.
As the club president, Jake Lyon ’26 helped table for WOODs. WOODs, “or, as we like to call it, ‘Wooster’s premier outdoor hiking and camping club,’ is all about being outside as much as possible, be it for community events or our break trips,” explained Lyon. “We thought [Sun Day] would be a great event that aligns with WOODs, and we’re all about showing the power of the sun while being outside.”
One activity that helped show off the sun’s power was the Greenhouse Club’s cyanotype art sheets. Greenhouse President Amelia Crowley ’27 explained, “it’s kind of like a form of photography without a camera.” A special dye is applied to the paper and dried, which is then covered by whatever objects the artist would like to use. “We’ve used rocks, flowers, grass … you place it in the sun, where the dye will change colors as the UV rays hit it … You rinse it off with water, and you’re left with this cool imprint of what was on top of the paper.”
Crowley is looking forward to their Earthfest celebration, Greenhouse Club’s biggest event for the year. “We get a bunch of other student clubs on campus to table and talk about how they’re working on sustainability or the environment.” Greenhouse will hold their Earthfest celebration sometime in late April.
Basil Keck ’28, an intern and peer educator with the office of sustainability, was running an educational table on the benefits of solar energy. Keck highlighted the economic upsides and overall quality of life benefits of implementing solar energy.
“Solar energy is the most affordable and reliable renewable energy, it’s way more affordable than oil and gas… in neighborhoods with solar panels, people actually report fewer asthma attacks, clearer skies and quieter environments.”
Keck also mentioned some “solar champions” within the Wooster community utilizing solar energy. He singled out Wooster Family Dental and Gojo Distribution, “which makes, like, all of the hand sanitizer here, and of course, our very own Scot Center.” Keck also shed light on some solar energy initiatives the Sustainability Office is pursuing on campus. “Right now, we’re trying to get new golf carts for the golf team, we’re trying to get fully electric carts.” He also mentioned the solar array they set up next to the Learning Garden Pavilion, “which can power a sound system or anything,” and allow for more sustainable outdoor events with audio equipment.