2024 Fête de la Terre Recap

The 2024 Fête de la Terre celebration was the biggest earth day celebration ever held on campus!

2024's Fête de la Terre, UL Lafayette's Office of Sustainability annual celebration of the Earth, got even bigger with the addition of the first ever Louisiana Sustainability Summit and an earth day tree planting in addition to the usual week of activies leading up to the Fête de la Terre Expo! This year's Fête de la Terre was held from April 10-22nd.

Fête de la Terre kicked off on April 10-12th with the Louisiana Sustainability Summit. The Summit is an educational experience for attendees providing resources and advancements in sustainability-focused work that exist state-wide. Topics such as environmental justice, gathering data, coastal resilience, renewable energy, community engagement, and waste management was primarily discussed. To learn more about the Summit please visit the 2024 Louisiana Sustainability Summit Recap Blog.

The following week from April 15-19th Fête de la Terre's week of actives. The week included Free Glass Recycling with BackYard Sapphire, Bike to Campus Week, Coulee Debris Display provided by Bayou Vermilion District (BVD), a month long free upcycling table at the Dupré Library, Sustainability Tabling with Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association's Watershed model, a Pet a Gator event at Dupré Library with Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and the Louisiana Fur Council, a Love the Boot campus clean up sponsored by Keep Louisiana Beautiful, a Weigh the Waste event with UL Dining Services, a Night Hike at the Acadiana Nature Station, a Seed Paper Eco Art Event with Students for Sustainability, and Yoga at the Hilliard Art Museum with collaboration with Rec Sports. Thank you to all of our friends and partners that help make this week full of fun events possible.

The week of Fête de la Terre events all lead up to the big Fête de la Terre Expo which is our annual Earth Day Celebration. The Expo was started on campus in 2012 and we look forward to it every year. The Expo had free jambalaya served in compostable products, live music from the UL Lafayette String Ensemble, and table exhibitors from over 35 local organizations, businesses, and non-profits who are committed to a more sustainable Acadiana and Louisiana. Tote bags and many other items were given out at the expo and students had the chance to play games, learn from exhibits, and make eco art at the event.

After the Expo, we migrated over to Cypress lake Plaza to plant 15' foot tall Cypress Trees as part of another Love the Boot Beautification Project. With 20 volunteers made up of students from AmeriCorps, UL Geology Society, Students for Sustainability, GEAUX Bike UL, LA Tech, and community participants from The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana, Keep Louisiana Beautiful, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, and the Office of Sustainability we planted 4 trees around the Cypress Lake Plaza sign. We ended the day with a Campus Sustainability Tour where we took students and community members around campus to see first-hand how our University is committed to being a living laboratory and visit green infrastructure projects (permeable pavement, rain gardens, bioswales), pollinator habitats, urban cajun prairies, special heritage trees, community gardens, various recycling options, and more! While we are on the tour we played Nature Bingo to see what we can spot around our beautiful campus.

See you next year for the next Fête de la Terre in April of 2025!

Students for Sustainability Highlight:

During Earth Month, Students for Sustainability headed to the Kisatchie Bayou Campground for a camping trip and enjoy time connecting with nature and learning about the Kisatchie National Forest and the Kisatchie Bayou.