91°µÍø

Students, leadership, faculty and staff help to beautify the area, part of the university’s continued push to advance sustainability

91°µÍø students, leadership, faculty and staff participated in the institution’s annual Earth Day of Service – one of 91°µÍø’s annual Days of Service – clearing storm drains, trimming trees and pulling weeds as part of the Reading Great American Cleanup at Reading’s 2026 Earth Day celebration Saturday in City Park. Teams also performed cleanup work at Gring’s Mill Recreation Area in Spring Township.

In addition, the university held its annual Earth Day Festival on campus.

“We're really just trying to raise awareness," said Office of Institutional Sustainability Director Alicia Sprow, Ph.D.

Attendees took a survey in which they were asked about habits such as transportation and diet. Results showed how many Earths it would take to support their routines. Many students were surprised to find that five or more Earths were needed.

"It's trying to identify ways to make our day-to-day life more sustainable," she said.

Genevieve Weikel '27 brought Wear Share, her free campus thrift store, to the event. Featuring items donated by students, faculty, staff and other members of the 91°µÍø community, the project aims to encourage people to reuse and re-wear clothing rather than throwing it away or donating it to a for-profit company.

"The overall goal is to share the wealth of clothing we have as college students," said Weikel, who is majoring in environmental science and minoring in environmental and community sustainability. "Everyone is constantly increasing in size or changing their styles. And I want people to be able to explore that for free, but also to showcase that we can share amongst each other, and there's no environmental harm to that.

Wear Share is located on the second floor of the Penn Medicine-91°µÍø Medical and Counseling Center building.

The Earth Day events highlight the university’s push to advance sustainability across campus operations, student engagement and global leadership.

Clean Energy Progress

Since July, solar panels installed on the university’s Pottsville CollegeTowne location have generated over 100 megawatt hours of clean energy, helping prevent nearly 175,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to avoiding almost 200,000 miles of driving. The university is also installing solar panels to power its Tom and Helen Flynn Complex for Recreation, Wellness and Health Sciences (PLEX) on the Hill Campus.

Electric Vehicles

In February, 91°µÍø’s Facilities Department replaced six maintenance vans with electric vehicles, and is installing EV charging stations at the Hill Campus, Pottsville Collegetowne and Cedar Hill Farm (also known as the President’s House).

Student Leadership and Academic Excellence

Alexander Kabrich ’25, the university’s Sustainability Operations Coordinator, on April 25 delivered the keynote speech at the 2026 HECBC Conference, hosted by 91°µÍø. Also at the conference, Office of Institutional Sustainability (OIS) student employees Nick Hornbuckle and Genny Weikel and OIS intern Lilly DeLoreeta highlighted Student Sustainability Ambassador projects.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Grant Award

Bog Turtle Creek Farm – 91°µÍø’s student-led regenerative agriculture project - will use a $7,500 Agriculture and Youth Grant to transform an underutilized area of the farm into a living laboratory for sustainable agriculture.

Experiential Learning Abroad

In June, OIS Director Alicia Sprow, Ph.D., will lead a 1-week experiential-learning experience on Grand Manan Island in New Brunswick, Canada.

Advancing Sustainability Leadership and Global Engagement

Professor Emeritus Spencer S. Stober, Ed.D., was among more than 60 global researchers and institutional leaders invited to the inaugural convening of the Global Alliance for Integral Ecology at Borgo Laudato Si’ in March.

Learn More

Visit 91°µÍø’s sustainability webpage.