Written by: Rachel Payne April 23, 2025 The UAH Facilities & Operations department (UAH Grounds Management unit) hosted a 2025 Earth Day Celebration effort in the Conference Training Center (CTC) Lobby on April 22nd that provided information about the holiday, the continuous sustainability efforts on campus, and included giveaway items for students who stopped to learn more. This event was sponsored by the UAH Sustainability Program and the Office of Environmental Health & Safety (OEHS). Lemon & Lavender (located in Downtown Madison) joined this event as North Alabama's first refillery through promoting their store's goal and mission to limit one-use plastics through purchasing shampoo/conditioner, laundry detergent, soaps, and body wash in reusable containers. EnSafe joined this event as well and promoted their sustainability goals and awareness through explaining their web-based programming and focus on recycling/waste minimization, energy/resource conservation, and academic community support. F&O, OEHS, and the outside vendors talked with students about sustainability practices to follow daily and protecting the quality of stormwater through the completion of a survey gauging UAH students' current knowledge of stormwater effects and best practices. "By effectively protecting the quality of stormwater, we also safeguard our creeks and rivers, and ultimately the water we need to survive." (RETTEW Associates, Inc.). The UAH Grounds Management unit gave out Redbud tree seedlings and Sourwood tree seedlings to students with the promotion idea to learn about their specific tree seedlings and take care of them for a year in a pot, with the hopes of planting them back into the environment, as they are both native tree species. While remembering the true purpose of Earth Day, we ask you to reflect on some major environmental issues going on in the world and continue to support environmental awareness. You can celebrate Earth Day every day by engaging in your community and showing appreciation for our planet!