A campus whose trees were ripped apart by Hurricane Helene takes one small step toward restoration last Tuesday during the Presbyterian College Blue Hose Earth Day’s Tree Dedication Ceremony -- a flyer said, “Be a part of our effort to Revitalize our Campus after the effects of Hurricane Helene caused. ... Be part of something big! Let’s come together and rebuild out community starting with PC and going one street at a time.” Dr. Sabrina Moore and the Ecology Club spearhead the effort, in collaboration with the Building Community course taught by Dr. Julie Meadows, to plant ceremonially a serviceberry tree in front of Georgia Hall. Tree chips from campus trees lost during the hurricane are used in the tree-planting and native flower installation at the site. Students scanned a QR code to participate in a reflection question and answer about the tree-planting and the Earth Day Festival on the Neville Hall front lawn. - Photos by Vic MacDonald
EARTH DAY, EVERY DAY
by Robert Koehler
Let Earth Day be every day! Let it transcend the present state of politics and our economic hierarchy. Let it open us to the future we long for but do not yet envision.
We live on one vulnerable, extraordinary planet. We are not its overlords; we are part of an evolving circle of life, which we are still trying to understand. And we can only understand it if we also value it, ever so deeply. Earth Day is also Love Day.
Oh God, let it flow beyond the invisible borders we have created. To that end, I call forth the late Pope Francis, who died two days ago as I write – a day before Earth Day 2025. He was 88. Unlike most world leaders, he saw the need to transcend the present worldview – including religion – that currently holds the planet hostage.
As Nathan Schneider, a University of Colorado professor and contributor to the Jesuit publication America Magazine, noted recently in a Democracy Now interview, Pope Francis was insistent on linking major political issues, such as protecting the planet’s ecosystem and halting the war on migrants. “Justice for both,” Schneider said. We must “counter the idea of disposability.”
This is a cry from the depths of our soul. Value the planet. Value all of humanity. We have to reach beyond the world we think we know and, as the pope put it, according to Schneider, “learn from the periphery.”
The migrant crisis and the climate crisis are intertwined. The pope “called for solidarity across borders. He called for taking down the idols of our world – the things that we think are real that really aren’t: borders created with imaginary lines.”
That is to say: Tear down that wall, this is a wall we’ve built in our own hearts. Planet Earth is a single entity; our complex differences are interrelated. Yes, conflict is inevitable, but dehumanizing those with whom we disagree is never the answer. Yes, this is an inconvenience for those in power – and for those who want, and feel entitled, to use up the planet for personal gain. Humanity, as Pope Francis understood, is at an extraordinary transition point: beyond exploitation.
As Cynthia Kaufman writes:
“The forces that are tearing apart the fabric of our world are part of a global set of practices that have developed over the past 500 years that allow people and companies to pursue profit for its own sake without regard for the needs of others. Over those centuries, destructive practices based on capitalism, slavery, colonialism, and particular forms of patriarchy have been woven into the ways that politics, economics, and culture function. . . .
“Rather than trying, under these difficult circumstances, to reestablish a new accord with the exploitative systems that dominate our world, the time is ripe to dig deeply and try to uproot those systems at their cores. That will involve building alternative ways of meeting our needs, fighting against the structures that support the current system, and rethinking our understanding of our social world. If a new accord between capital and labor is not likely to be established any time soon, our best hope is to work to build a social world based on principles of solidarity.”
Principles of solidarity? This is a huge leap for the part of humanity that assumes itself to be in control of the future. Kaufman is not talking about an alliance of good guys against bad guys, but solidarity in a total way: solidarity with the planet and its extraordinarily complex ecosystem. “Solidarity” values continuous learning, understanding and protecting, not simply controlling. That is to say: environmental stewardship.
According to the Earthday website:
“It is widely acknowledged that Indigenous people, despite making up just 5 percent of the global population, protect a significant amount of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. Traditional Ecological Knowledge is a term for the collective Indigenous knowledge and beliefs about nature and man’s place in it, and serves as an alternative to the more objective and resource-oriented Western worldview of the environment as something to be exploited.”
I would put it this way: Planet Earth has a soul.
I say this in a non-religious way, without a sense of explanatory understanding, just a sense of wonder. The planet itself is alive. And life itself should be what we value most, not . . . money (the invisible god).
As Earthday notes:
“Like the Maōri, many Indigenous communities consider themselves ‘guardians’ of their local environmental resources.
“Within the 2.7 million square miles of the Amazon Rainforest, there are approximately 400 distinct tribes which call the rainforest home. The Guajajara tribe, in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, are particularly known for their fierce protection of their local forests from illegal loggers, and continue to risk their lives daily for their home.”
Let Earth Day push our awareness beyond the invisible borders we have created and beyond the invisible god who holds us hostage. I don’t say this with a simple shrug but, rather, without knowing how this will happen – just that it must. The necessary changes humanity must make are collective, but also individual, at least in the sense that we must open our hearts and look for solidarity . . . with one another, with all of life. This is what I have called empathic sanity. Real change is impossible without it.
Robert Koehler (koehlercw@gmail.com), syndicated by PeaceVoice, is a Chicago award-winning journalist and editor. He is the author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, and his album of recorded poetry and art work, Soul Fragments.
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE STUDENTS CELEBRATE EARTH DAY WITH TREE PLANTING, FESTIVAL, AND COMMUNITY SPIRIT
April 29, 2025
Presbyterian College celebrated Earth Day last week with more than just flowers and festivities—it celebrated the power of community, resilience, and student-led environmental action.
The college hosted a vibrant campus-wide festival anchored by a ceremonial planting of a native serviceberry tree in front of Georgia Hall. The event, a collaboration between the PC Ecology Club and students in Dr. Julie Meadows’ “Building Community” course, included native flower installations, live music, yoga on the lawn, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
But for students like sophomore D’Andrevius Dorsey, the day was about much more than appearances.
“I wanted everybody to feel a part of something,” said Dorsey, who helped initiate the tree planting as a way to unite students from different backgrounds. “This place felt like home when I first saw the trees lining the walk to GDH and the pond near the dorms. The scenery made me feel like I already belonged.”
Dorsey’s reflections on the power of place were born not just from appreciation, but from adversity. Last fall, Hurricane Helene tore through the Clinton area, damaging trees and buildings across campus—including during what would have been his first home football game.
“The Wi-Fi went down, trees fell, windows broke—it didn’t look like the PC I first came to,” he said. “But then I saw people come together. They picked up debris, cleared roads. We had to adapt. That’s what being a Blue Hose is about—facing adversity head-on.”
In the storm’s aftermath, the Ecology Club turned its focus to replanting native, resilient species. Monday’s event symbolized that recovery—and growth.
“After Hurricane Helene, our club’s focus has been on growing and planting our campus with resilient native species,” said Dr. Sabrina Moore, assistant professor of biology and Ecology Club faculty advisor. “It matters what you choose to plant because our native trees are habitats that support biodiversity and benefit our climate.”
Moore said the serviceberry tree—Amelanchier—was specifically chosen because it supports more than 120 species of moths and butterflies and produces berries that feed local wildlife. The planting was done in part by students from her ecology class.
“I’m feeling really proud of this group,” Moore said. “It’s inspiring to see this many native plants go in on campus, and I’m excited for students to study what they support as part of our ecology curriculum.”
Freshman Ezra Marks was among those who participated in the planting and festival preparations. A longtime environmental advocate, Marks led his high school’s environmental club before coming to PC. Now, he finds his interests growing—literally.
“I really like growing things, and it gives me a good outlet,” Marks said. “Getting to see other people take home the plants we’ve grown or enjoy them in the community garden is really fulfilling.”
Ecology Club founder Alexandra McAlister, was thrilled with the turnout.
“I started the Ecology Club my freshman year because I just wanted a group of friends to go hiking with,” McAlister said. “It has blossomed into this really big event where we are trying to promote conservation and more ecological diversity within our campus and our community. This is bigger than last year, and that’s all I could have hoped for.”
The Earth Day Festival, held from on the front lawn of Neville Hall, offered more than just environmental education. Booths hosted by local groups such as Keep Laurens County Beautiful and the Joe Adair Outdoor Education Center helped connect students and Clinton residents with community efforts in sustainability. Festival-goers enjoyed free plants, outdoor games, and music performed by PC students.
The celebration even found a way to make use of what had been lost. Wood chips from trees destroyed by Hurricane Helene were reused as mulch during the planting—a full-circle moment symbolizing the college’s commitment to renewal.
“It was beautiful,” said Dorsey during his speech at the dedication ceremony. “I thank you all for participating. I hope you all feel a part of something bigger than just me.”
As the serviceberry took root and the festival bloomed around it, students and faculty alike reflected on the deeper meaning behind the day’s activities. For PC, Earth Day was not only a chance to reconnect with nature—but also to renew bonds within the campus community.
And for Dorsey, it was a reminder of why he chose Presbyterian College in the first place.
“When we came together and played kickball during the storm—when we could’ve just been frustrated or sad—that’s when I knew what it meant to be Blue Hose,” he said. “We’re strong. We care. And we show up.”
