After a 3-year long hiatus, Earth Week has officially made its comeback to Las Positas College. From April 20 to 24, the campus buzzed with activities all aimed at reconnecting students with the environment and revitalizing the college’s commitment to sustainability.
The week featured a series of standalone events, which are a core component of LPC’s Green Initiative: A broad effort to modernize campus waste management and reduce the college’s overall carbon footprint.
One of the most popular events featured was “Meatless Friday” at the cafeteria. While the concept has become more popular over the years, it was introduced at LPC to show students how slight shifts in daily habits can collectively reduce the campus’s environmental impact.
“It’s encouraging people to eat less meat because so much land is dedicated to raising livestock,” horticulture professor Laura Cornett said. “They produce a lot of methane, which is bad for our carbon footprint. Eating less meat is a tangible thing you can do for the environment.”
Beyond the cafeteria, the Horticulture Club is working to bridge the gap between education and action. The club’s plant sale on April 21 provided students with the opportunity to bring some greenery home, while an information session on Monday highlighted the college’s horticulture and viticulture programs as pathways.
The revival of Earth Week at LPC also highlights efforts made behind the scenes to improve the campus infrastructure. LPC has been working to update its waste streams, specifically in the cafeteria.
The cafeteria sports color-coded bins with pictures to help students place waste in the appropriate bins. The cafeteria also began diverting kitchen waste to the “Earth Tub,” an investment composter used by the horticulture department. This system turns food scraps, which would otherwise produce methane in a landfill, into nutrient-rich soil for the campus horticulture program to use.
The sentiment on campus is one of shared responsibility to help LPC gain a “green thumb.” Anthony Opipari, president of the Horticulture club, noted the drive to organize and table for Earth Week is a simple one.
“It’s the right thing to do with the state of the world … to do anything to make it a better place,” Opipari said.
As Earth Week wrapped up, the goal was to ensure that environmental action at LPC isn’t just an annual celebration, but a permanent improvement of campus life. While the events may be over at the end of the week, the infrastructure for a greener LPC is built to last.
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TOP PHOTO: Earth Week, held from April 20 to 24, 2026, at Las Positas College in Livermore, Calif. featured a variety of events. The goal of the week is to reduce the college’s carbon footprint.
Angelina An is a staff writer for The Express. Follow her on X @angiebee_919.
