Earth Fest

Apr 17, 2026 to Apr 23, 2026

April 8, 2026

7:36 AM

Laila Smith/Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

Participants in a 2024 Earth Fest workshop.

Earth Day was founded by a Wisconsinite — U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson — and it makes sense that the UW’s Nelson Institute would know how to do this most essential of holidays up right. It’s a full week of events across the spectrum, from hikes and birding outings to live music to craft sessions — all, of course, with nature in mind. Crafting, for instance, includes a session on making a bee house to attract pollinators. There’s lots more, including a keynote panel featuring Isaias Hernandez, an environmentalist also known as the Queer Brown Vegan, April 21 at 5:15 p.m. Find the full (and we do mean full) schedule at earthfest.wisc.edu.

media release: Earth Fest is for all members of the Badgers community: from students to alumni, faculty to friends, and seasoned experts to future Badgers. Dive into groundbreaking research or dig in the dirt as you pot your own plant. Sift and winnow the latest research or sort and filter recyclables. Make career connections for your future or master sustainable techniques for your home.

Entering its third year, Earth Fest’s mission is to educate, inspire, and motivate attendees to celebrate and safeguard the one resource and place we all share: our world. Central to this year’s collection of events is the theme of motivation — finding your place in environmental action, no matter the scale (or your size).

Event highlights:

For the Littlest Environmentalists

Family Nature Program: Love the Earth Sunday, April 19,, 1:30–3:30 p.m., UW Arboretum: Geared for elementary-age kids and younger, this program features a nature walk and activities designed to help children explore the world around them. Adults required; wear sturdy shoes!

All Ages

Engineering EXPO Community Day Saturday, April 18, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., College of Engineering: Explore the world of engineering through a free STEM outreach event interacting with student organizations, lab tours, hands-on activities, live demonstrations, keynote speakers in the field, and members from industry at Engineering EXPO.

Spring Fest Sunday, April 19, 2–7 p.m., Eagle Heights Community Garden: Celebrate the start of growing season with an afternoon filled with outdoor fun, hosted by the People’s Farm. Enjoy live music, crafts, a bird walk, free food, yard games, and more!

Evening Bird Hike Sunday, April 19, 6–7 p.m., Eagle Heights Community Garden: As part of Spring Fest, the Audubon Society, UW–Madison, will host a night hike at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve in celebration of spring migration. Join us for an hour-long hike around the Biocore Prairie and Eagle Heights Community Garden. Binoculars will be provided!

Elementary Age and Up

Hemp Lab Open House Friday, April 17, 12–4 p.m., Nancy Nicolas Hall, Room 2275: Learn how hemp goes from plant to packaging and other materials! Get up close with raw hemp — and even take home your own sample.

Make Your Own DIY Bee House Sunday, April 19, 12–1:30 p.m., Humphrey Jorns Courtyard at Leopold Residence Hall: Using found and recycling materials, build mini bee houses to take home.

Tiny Terracotta Studio Thursday, April 23, 12–3 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace: Decoupage and decorate your own mini terracotta container, then fill with a free seed starter kit!

For High Schoolers/all ages

Earth Fest Forum: Finding Your Place in Environmental Action Tuesday, April 22,4–7 p.m., Discovery Building: Register (free) Budding environmental activists have an exciting opportunity to hear from Isaias Hernandez — better known online as @queerbrownvegan — an environmental educator and storyteller who was featured alongside Billie Eilish in Vogue. Doors open at 4 p.m. with art, screen printing, and refreshments, and Hernandez will speak at 5:15 p.m.

Earth Signals Monday, April 20, –9:30 p.m., Collins Recital Hall, Hamel Music Center: Come experience Wisconsin weather through music. We’ll discuss the science behind the weather, listen to weather translated to sound, and hear the world premiere of a new composition inspired by Wisconsin’s weather from composer Christopher Cobley.

Climate Change Theatre Action Thursday, April 23, 5:30–6:30 p.m., Science Hall: Enjoy an evening of immersive theatrical performance in one of UW–Madison’s most iconic buildings UW theater and dance students will perform a series of short plays throughout Science Hall, culminating in a panel with UW–Madison scientists on climate change and performance.

Arts related events:

Film

Dreams of the Abandoned Daughter Friday, April 17, 5–7 p.m., Chazen Museum of Art: Imagine a world where humans can communicate with the vast fungi networks running beneath our feet: mycelium! Join us for the Madison premiere of this dance-film that explores the climate crisis, blending social impacts of climate change with Korean myth.

Earth's Greatest Enemy Wednesday, April 22, 5:30–7:30 p.m., 1101 Humanities Building: Join us for a screening of Earth's Greatest Enemy, a documentary combining investigative journalism, striking visuals, and stories from impacted communities to reveal the hidden costs of a global military empire and its planetary consequences. Provocative, urgent, and eye-opening, this is a documentary that will change how you see both the military and environmentalism.

Performance

Melodies of Earth: A Flutist’s Rendition on Climate Change Friday, April 17, 7:30–9 p.m., Morphy Recital Hall, Mosse Humanities Building: Performed by Abhinay Reddy, this program is inspired by the persisting events of climate change, presenting a journey on nature’s crisis. This recital calls out for us as humans to take action to prevent climate change from worsening even more, allowing us to experience the pathos of immense climate events and learn about climate change in an interdisciplinary way.

Books and DIY

Earth Fest Forum: Finding Your Place in Environmental Action Tuesday, April 21, 4–7 p.m., Discovery Building: The Earth Fest Forum brings together keynote speaker Isaias Hernandez and UW–Madison students for a conversation about how environmental work becomes personal, and how personal work becomes action. Featuring live screen printing, art installations, and more.

Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present and Future of the Self-Provisioning City by with Kate Brown Monday, April 20, 5–6:30 p.m., L140 Elvehjem Building: Gardeners in cities and suburbs are reclaiming lost commons, transforming vacant lots into vibrant plots, turning waste into compost, and recreating what was once the most productive agriculture in recorded human history while simultaneously nurturing health, hope, and community. Learn about the history — and future! — of urban gardening with author and professor Kate Brown.

For more information and to view the full schedule, visit earthfest.wisc.edu. Interested in bringing a school or youth group to an Earth Fest event? Contact our team at earthfest@nelson.wisc.edu.