On Thursday Warren Wilson College celebrated one of its most special traditions — Work Day.

Work Day has been described as Warren Wilson Christmas. It is a more than 100-year-old tradition when classes are canceled so students, faculty and staff can come together to improve campus.

“It is an opportunity for the campus to come out, experience working together and building community together, as well as beautification and getting really good work done,” said Associate Dean of Work Paul Bobbitt. “I think it’s quite significant that we embrace a holiday like this that is focused around work and the action of work.”

Projects this year included assembling swallow boxes, building fences, painting, establishing a foundation for a medicine wheel garden, aerating no-till garden beds, writing letters and maintaining the natural dye garden.

“I love Work Day because everyone just gets together to work— that is the reason for being here,” said Dakota Ward, a sophomore at Warren Wilson. “The reason is to work and better our community for everyone in it. Working is such a good way to get to know and interact with your community. I love getting together with my crew all the time, so it’s so great to have an extension of that and do it with people who are on different crews.” 

Work Day also serves as a celebration of work, which is part of the hands-on, experiential learning model of Warren Wilson as one of nine Work Colleges in the country. 

“I definitely came to Warren Wilson because it was a Work College,” Ward said. “I’m a Sustainable Agriculture major, and there’s nothing better than learning to grow food and provide for your community in a classroom, with the context of history and science and all those things, and to actually apply it, put my hands in the dirt and practice what I’m learning is irreplaceable.”