NOCCCD Sustainability Director Updates: Earth Day Edition! (Spring 2026)

Earth Week 2026

Each April, NOCCCD observes Earth Week and this year was one of the largest celebrations so far, with events at Fullerton College, NOCE, and District Services! We hope these events left you with a sense of purpose, a passion for the environment, and a drive to get more involved with this work.

"Our Power, Our Planet"

The week kicked off with on April 21 with NOCE and NOCCCD jointly presenting an Earth Week Fair entitled “Our Power, Our Planet.” The Earth Week Fair began five years ago at Fullerton College under the direction of their campus’s Sustainability Committee and aimed to connect students with organizations in their community which focused on resources and environmentalism. Some organizations such as the OC Registrar of Voters and OC Transportation Authority have been supporting us since the beginning! With our Sustainability Department transitioning to the District last year, the fair will begin to rotate between the three campuses. This year, the event was held at the Anaheim Campus, offering a suite of community partners such as the Anaheim Public Works and Utilities, Oak Canyon Nature Center, and Anaheim Public Library. Over 215 students attended the event over its three-hour runtime, getting to connect with our partners and earn fun NOCE-themed prizes from our wonderful campus partners. For 2027, the Earth Week Fair will be held at Cypress College, so look forward to meeting new organizations in their area!

Earth Day Symposium

Following the fair, on April 22 the Fullerton College Sustainability Committee held the annual Earth Day Symposium, the longest-running Earth Day event in our District. This year was the 10th annual symposium, beginning all the way back in 2016. Our speaker this year was Dr. Michael Mendez, Associate Professor of Environmental Planning and Policy and Chancellor’s Fellow at UC Irvine. Dr. Mendez’s award-winning book, Climate Change from the Streets, explores the differences in the climate change movement of today and the past, comparing its old focus on carbon reduction to its new focus on community health. Dr. Mendez delivered his keynote to a room of students and faculty and led a discussion around the best direction to move forward as individuals and as a college.

Earth Week Chat

Finally, the District Sustainability Office and Professional Development hosted an “Earth Week Chat” on April 23 to provide a progress update on the 2025/2026 Sustainability Action Plan, next steps, and some tips and tricks to be more sustainable at work and at home. The event was hosted by Special Projects Sustainability Director Tyler Deacy, who highlighted efforts to compile greenhouse gas emissions data, Fullerton College’s recent STARS Bronze achievement, the new sustainability webpage, as well as upcoming projects to introduce native species to the District-wide planting standards and add additional green space to the Anaheim Campus. Deacy shared that the carpool rate across the District has dropped 60% since the pandemic, and encouraged staff can do to carpool or work from home at least once a week, and turn off lights after 4 p.m.

If you have any suggestions for next year’s Earth Week, please email Tyler Deacy at tdeacy@nocccd.edu.