Bucknell Earth Day event to spotlight Pennsylvania Green Amendment advocacy

Shaelyn Parker will bring the fight over Pennsylvania’s environmental rights to Bucknell University’s MacDonald Commons on April 22, when a free Earth Day program in Lewisburg will examine how the state constitution can be used to push environmental advocacy.

The event, titled The PA Green Amendment: How The PA Constitution Can Power Environmental Advocacy, is scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. at MacDonald Commons, 560 Christy Mathewson Drive. Bucknell’s Center for Sustainability & the Environment, The Climate Reality Project’s Susquehanna Valley PA Chapter, Sierra Club Pennsylvania and Bucknell University are co-sponsoring the program, which is open to the public.

Parker, identified as the River Protection and Environmental Rights Advocacy Associate at the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, also works with Green Amendments For The Generations. Her background in community organizing, group instruction, facilitation, science communication and research is expected to shape a discussion centered on accessible advocacy, not just environmental theory.

The timing is significant in Pennsylvania, where the Environmental Rights Amendment has been part of the state constitution since voters approved it on May 18, 1971. Article I, Section 27 says people have a right to clean air, pure water and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment, and it places public natural resources in trust for the people. The amendment has taken on renewed importance since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 2013 Robinson Township decision, which is widely seen as a turning point in modern environmental law.

MacDonald Commons provides a fitting backdrop for the conversation. Completed in 2015, it was the first Bucknell building to earn LEED Gold certification. Bucknell says more than 60% of the construction waste from the project was diverted from landfills, and more than 75% of the lumber came from sustainable forests. The building also includes a large multipurpose space and meeting rooms used by students.

The program also comes as Bucknell’s sustainability office is evolving. The university says its Center for Sustainability & the Environment was launched in 2005 and adopted that name in 2015. In 2026, it is transitioning to the Bucknell Ecology Center as part of a broader interdisciplinary mission.

Bucknell’s public events calendar says university-sponsored and collaborative events are made public so stakeholders can stay current on campus activity. In this case, the campus is opening its doors for a discussion that ties Lewisburg to a state constitutional debate with long-term implications for clean air, water and environmental policy across Union County and beyond.