Terra Secundum: Environmental engagement through the arts

As part of Mason's Earth Week, Terra Secundum brings the arts together as artists and musicians came together on Monday to perform works centered on themes of the Earth and sustainability (photo by Amy Podraza).

For the first time in George Mason University’s history, The Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with Northern Virginia Community College,  showcased student’s unique artwork, musical scores and spoken word centered on themes of sustainability and ecology.

The event took place on Monday, April 22 to kick off Mason’s Earth Week.

Terra Secundum, which translates to "second earth,” invites the Mason community to learn more about the importance of sustainability, applicable not only to our generation, but to the next.

“I’m excited to see how this event will be integrating art and activism and how it can help engage us in environmental change,” said Roger LeBlanc, a sustainability major at Mason. “Climate change is going to require a broad range of solutions and this event embodies how interdisciplinary the green movement really is.”

Danielle Wyman, Mason’s sustainability manager of outreach and community engagement, and Jonathan Kolm, assistant professor of music at Northern Virginia Community College, worked together over the past several months to culminate the production. The two began brainstorming last December and have worked to craft each of their talents and interests to showcase the importance of sustainability in a unique and effective way.

Wyman found her roots in sustainability studies after immersing herself in the culture of Mastatal, Costa Rica to learn more about organic farming.

“They had a sense of almost hyper-awareness about the land," Wyman said. "They’re a lot more dependent on the land than we are here.” She now focuses in sustainable food management and has since developed Mason’s first ever organic vegetable garden at the Child Development Center, which pre-dates the popular vegetable garden located by Potomac Heights. 

Kolm’s music has been heard at festivals around the country and abroad including at Carbon Planet at the 2011 Beijing International Composition Workshop among several others. Despite having differing areas of interest, Wyman and Kolm have managed to orchestrate a unique production bound to captivate a wide range of audiences.

Terra Secundum is one of the many events happening this week at Mason to highlight Earth Week. In addition, there will be an opportunity for students, staff and faculty to tour Bull Run Farms through Community Supported Agriculture this coming Sunday.

Instrumental to providing sustainability options and activities on campus for Earth Week, including Terra Secundum, was the OoS's umbrella program Auxilarly Enterprise (AE) which Dan Waxman from the program said planned a majority of this week's events.

AE is responsible for providing new recycling bins on campus as well as in the residential halls while also providing new water bottle filling stations. 

Interested in learning more information about sustainability at Mason or attending more events throughout the week?

Contact Danielle Wyman at dwyman@gmu.edu. Also, be sure to check out green.gmu.edu to be in the loop about all things sustainability at Mason. 

Connect2Mason Entertainment Editor, Helena Okolicsanyi, contributed to this piece.