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Maryville College organizations, classes and students come together to spotlight sustainability for Earth Week 2026

April 15, 2026

Photo of poster for Earth Week at Maryville College 2026

Crawford House at Maryville College will be bustling with sustainability during Fit.Green.Happy.®’s annual Earth Week celebration. 

Fit.Green.Happy.® is a nonprofit arm of Mountain Challenge, an organization that provides high-quality and safe outdoor experiences at Maryville College. Fit.Green.Happy.® encourages area residents to live a more physically active and environmentally conscious lifestyle. 

From 2 to 7 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 15), at Crawford House, Fit.Green.Happy.® will kick off Earth Week with a Spring Vintage Market (in partnership with Knox Vintage Market) that is open to the public. 

“The value of a vintage market during Earth Week is that it encourages the basic R’s of sustainability: reduce and reuse,” Director of Mountain Challenge Tyson Murphy ’03 said. “For clothing that already exists, the cost on the environment has already been realized. Buying used items supports a local vendor or business, reduces your carbon footprint, and allows you to save money and maybe even look pretty cool if you find the right vintage shirt.” 

The vintage market will host 12 vendors selling a variety of items, including clothes, jewelry, hats and shoes. Beginning at 2 p.m, there will also be a handful of food stands to enjoy between vendors: Lil Man’s lemonade stand; Small Comforts Kitchen, which serves gluten-free pastries; and Hot Daddy D’s, which serves classic country dishes such as fried chicken, fish and pork chops.

During Earth Week, which officially runs April 20-25, Mountain Challenge will continue to host Camp4, an outdoor recreation program from 4 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday at Crawford House. It is free and open to the public. 

“Earth Week matters to us greatly,” Murphy said. “Apathy toward the environment destroyed the places we love, work and play. Our regular programming hopefully introduces our participants to the mountains, lakes and rivers of our region in a way that inspires them to love the natural world in the same way they love other things. If we love something, we care about, invest in and ultimately want to protect it. By connecting students with some of our favorite trips and locations in our region, we hope that students begin to care about those places on a personal level.” 

Maryville College, in partnership with Fit.Green.Happy.® will host a series of other activities throughout Earth Week, all of which are free to attend. 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 

Monday April 20

1 p.m.: Court Street Clean-up with ENV/SUS 101: Introduction to Environmental Issues and Foundations of Sustainability Course by Professors Mark O’Gorman and Adrienne Schwarte, in partnership with Keep Blount Beautiful, Participants should meet outside of Bartlett Hall; materials will be provided.

3 to 4 p.m.: Keep Blount Beautiful sponsored Blount County Recycling Center Tour. This tour is an educational component of Glass Waste Diversion Program. 

Tuesday April 21

11 a.m.: Thaw 210 – ENVPLS345 Environmental project presentation featuring student recommendations to increase campus sustainability.

Wednesday April 22

  • All Day — Lights Out — faculty/staff are encouraged to turn off lights in their campus spaces.
  • Noon, Pearsons Quad — Environmental Education Event by the ENV/SUS101 class.
  • 3 to 4 p.m.: “Rooted in Calm: Nature & Mental Wellness,” sponsored by Fit.Green.Happy.® Join the MC Counseling Center for a workshop on how to use nature to reduce stress and cultivate wellness. The workshop will include information on the benefits of nature for mental health, tips for incorporating nature into your everyday life, and discussions on how to protect green spaces to support well-being for all.
  • 3 to 5 p.m:  Crawford House — Camp 4 at Mountain Challenge.

Friday, April 24

  • 2 to 2:30 p.m.: Forest bathing sponsored by Fit.Green.Happy.® and Mountain Challenge. Meet at Crawford House.

Saturday, April 25

  • All Day: Little River Watershed Association (LWRA) — Little River Roundup
    • 11 to 3 p.m.: Land and water clean-ups happening at their respective locations
    • 5 p.m.: Hangout at the Greenbelt Amphitheater Park begins in downtown Maryville
    • 6 p.m.: Volunteer dinner/cookout
    • 8 p.m.: Remarks and results from the Clean-up
    • 8 p.m.: Showing of the short film “The Voice of Little River” about the Little River Watershed Association
    • 8 p.m.: Showing of the feature film “Hidden Rivers”
    • 9 p.m.: Event ends

— Written by McKenna Marr ’28

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”