Earth Day ATX 2025 Brings Sustainability Education to East Austin
By Nia Armstrong
Reporting Texas
Earth Day ATX 2025 Takes Over Huston-Tillotson University. Nia Armstrong/Reporting Texas
Austinites gathered at Huston-Tillotson University on Saturday for Earth Day ATX 2025.
Nonprofit organization Earth Day Austin hosted the annual educational festival with the goal of empowering the public to make sustainable choices.
“As a native of East Austin, we aren’t always taught about these things,” said Eric Byrd, festival coordinator. “One of my favorite things about this is learning, and getting to meet people who work in the sustainability field, and to share in the learning with other folks,” he said.
Huston-Tillotson University, a historic campus in East Austin, has hosted Earth Day ATX since 2017.
This year’s event marked the 55th anniversary of Earth Day and the university’s 150th year. The family-friendly festival embraced the theme “Rooted in Community,” highlighting environmental justice, sustainability, and local resilience.
Earth Day Austin’s executive director, Janis Bookout, said that the nonprofit’s focus on community stems from a shared conflict.
“At the heart of environmental degradation, it’s the same source as social inequity. So, the extraction of resources, and the exploitation of people, that is what is at the heart of what’s not working.”
Festival coordinator Ashleigh Hamilton says that partnering with a historically Black university is a large aspect of the event, showing how important community is, especially in terms of environmental change.
“There’s something to be said – and extremely sacred – about this land that we’re taking part in, and being able to participate with an HBCU of this magnitude,” she said.
Earth Day ATX featured live music, interactive exhibits, community art, and hands-on workshops. Attendees explored topics ranging from zero-waste living and electric vehicles to climate equity and green business innovation.
Local nonprofits Solar Austin showed off solar-paneled race cars, and Austin Creative Reuse offered lessons in weaving with repurposed clothing.
Organizers emphasized the festival’s zero-waste mission, encouraging attendees to bike, bus, or carpool to reduce their carbon footprint. Earth Day ATX 2025 served as a vibrant reminder of Austin’s dedication to environmental stewardship and community engagement.
Earth Day ATX serves as a stepping stone for the nonprofit’s greater purpose: to lead Austin toward a sustainable society for all.