By Alicia Colegrove

The Department of Environmental Science and Technology hosted an Earth Day event Wednesday featuring panels and exhibits exploring the theme, “technology for environmental good.”

Established in 1970, Earth Day is a celebration of environmental conservation and sustainability efforts. This year marks ENST’s fourth annual commemoration — past themes focused on issues such as reforestation, carbon accounting and data centers. 

This year, panelists discussed how new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can assist environmental efforts. Speakers varied from University of Maryland staff to representatives from private companies and even National Geographic.

The event was hosted in the Animal Sciences Courtyard from 4 to 6 p.m. and included a complimentary taco dinner with Maryland Dairy ice cream. The evening kicked off with “Happy Earth Day,” a play on the song “Happy Birthday,” and 10 Earth Day-themed dad jokes courtesy of David Tilley.

Tilley, an associate professor at ENST, said the celebration helps build the department’s brand for students across campus. 

“It’s basically our opportunity to bring people together, to let them share their questions and insight about what’s going on in the environment in a nice, friendly environment,” Tilley said. “It gives the students an opportunity to meet people from industry, and it’s just a nice time to celebrate.”

The panel had two sections, one about sensing, monitoring and ecological restoration, and another about sustainable innovation, food systems and environmental practice. Both sections discussed how AI can aid these initiatives.

“Part of our name is Environmental Science and Technology, so we thought technology was kind of a key aspect that we could celebrate,” Tilley said. 

Robert Swam, one of the event’s panelists and an environmental consultant at Rodgers Consulting, said that there are many opportunities to be at the forefront of environmental technology advancement.

“I think a lot of environmental science comes with data collection, and I think there’s so many more ways that [people] are creating different ways or enhancing different ways to collect the data that we use,” Swam said. 

Kira Moss, a senior environmental science and policy major, said this year was her second time attending the Earth Day celebration, and that it’s exciting to get together and hear people’s ideas.

After the first part of the panel, she said she wished more proactive language was used when discussing environmental topics, and that there was room for improvement. 

“Instead of saying things like, ‘we shouldn’t be doing this,’ we could be saying, ‘we could be doing this,’ as a way of doing something rather than just sitting in where we are at the present moment,” Moss said. 

The celebration closed out with a final goodbye to Earth Day before students, attendees and panelists could discuss the future of environmental technology with tacos and ice cream. 

Featured Image: Earth Day celebration inside the Animal Sciences Courtyard on April 22, 2026. Photo by Alicia Colegrove.