From zero waste meals to a dance-filled harvest festival, Sustain-a-Bash shows the vibrancy of sustainability at UW

October 30, 2024

Photo by Miquéla Thornton

Late last month, you may have seen UW–Madison’s Bucky the Badger dancing from Library Mall to Gordon Lawn, members of the marching band in tow with trumpets and drums, and students marching with signs that read slogans like, “Sustainability? Very Demure” and “Melt My Heart. Not My Planet.” The march ended on Gordon Lawn for the Showcase, where dozens of students and community members tabled for clubs like Engineers for Sustainable World, UW initiatives like PEOPLE, and local organizations like Rooted. This was the culminating event of Sustain-a-Bash, the Office of Sustainability’s and University Housing’s annual week-long celebration of sustainability and campus life. The 11th year of the event featured everything from the Showcase which included recycling games and planet-friendly snacks by UW Executive Chef Paul Sprunger, to walking tours of sustainability initiatives across campus. Participants enjoyed an Eagle Heights farm open-house and public talks about the Ojibwe birchbark and Ho-Chunk Cottonwood Dugout canoes. It also included a sustainable dinner hosted by Food Recovery Network and UW Zero Waste and a clothing swap hosted by Re-Wear It. Finally, the 2024 Sustain-a-Bash ended with the annual Allen Centennial Garden’s Archipelago grand opening and annual Harvest Folk Festival, which celebrates diverse traditions of the harvest season through activities like flower crown making and seed saving and performances like cultural dances and music and traditional knowledge sharing. In case you missed it, check out the photo essay below of select events and be sure to attend next year’s Sustain-a-Bash.