Chemists Celebrate Earth Week 2026: Head Into the Woods With the Journal of Chemical Education!

Chemists Celebrate Earth Week is an annual event that takes place alongside Earth Day and celebrates the positive and crucial role that chemistry plays in the world.

This year, from April 19-25, we are turning our attention to trees! To celebrate this year's theme, "Into The Woods With Chemistry," the Journal of Chemical Education has gathered resources for exploring, analyzing, investigating and experimenting with trees through color, food, wood and natural products.

With this curated collection of articles, students and educators can investigate the chemistry of autumn colours, experiment with tie-dying using acorns and rust, learn how fermentation goes wild and more! With 103 volumes of engaging material on a wide variety of topics, the Journal of Chemical Education helps connect the classroom experience to the greater world.

Articles and Resources from the Journal of Chemical Education

Experimenting with Trees: Color

Botanical Textile Printing: A Creative Approach to Teaching Chemistry in High School
Ana Maria Janeiro Tudanca and Mariana Hamer
Journal of Chemical Education 2025 102 (10), 4552-4559
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5c00089

Tie-Dyeing with Foraged Acorns and Rust: A Workshop Connecting Green Chemistry and Environmental Science
Christian Machado, Anton O. Oliynyk, and Julian R. Silverman
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (6), 2431-2437
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00086

K-5 Thin-Layer Chromatography: Three-Dimensional Analysis of Pigments from Plant Materials Using an Interlocking Building-Block Photography Box
Melissa Saldaña, Stephanie A. Valenzuela, Sarah R. Moor, Pedro Metola, and Eric V. Anslyn
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (12), 4414-4419
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00625

Chemistry of Autumn Colors: Quantitative Spectrophotometric Analysis of Anthocyanins and Carotenoids and Qualitative Analysis of Anthocyanins by Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Marianna Manninen, Veli-Matti Vesterinen, and Juha-Pekka Salminen
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (3), 772-777
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00436

“Supermarket Column Chromatography of Leaf Pigments” Revisited: Simple and Ecofriendly Separation of Plant Carotenoids, Chlorophylls, and Flavonoids from Green and Red Leaves
Alice M. Dias and Maria La Salete Ferreira
Journal of Chemical Education 2015 92 (1), 189-192
DOI: 10.1021/ed500299j

Exploring Trees: Food

Analysis of Food Extracts with Thin Layer Chromatography: A STEM Outreach Activity
Tu M. Ho, Anna I. Elizondo, Jose G. Urbiola, Kaitlyn Varela, Anissa Resendez, Tyla Oliver, Belen Plasencia, and Francis K. Yoshimoto
Journal of Chemical Education 2024 101 (11), 5082-5088
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00969

Fermentation Gone Wild: A Biochemistry Laboratory Experiment
Julie T. Millard, Ronald F. Peck, Tina M. Beachy, and Victoria L. Hepburn
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (8), 3076-3080
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00499

Digital Tool for the Analysis of UV–Vis Spectra of Olive Oils and Educational Activities with High School and Undergraduate Students
Sandro Jurinovich and Valentina Domenici
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (2), 787-798
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c01015

Valorization of Waste Orange Peel to Produce Shear-Thinning Gels
Lucy S. Mackenzie, Helen Tyrrell, Robert Thomas, Avtar S. Matharu, James H. Clark, and Glenn A. Hurst
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (12), 3025-3029
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b01009

BYOL: Bring Your Own Lime Hands-On Laboratory Experience
Mikhail Kurushkin, Chantal Tracey, and Maria Mikhaylenko
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (6), 1283-1286
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00966

Investigating the Antioxidant Capacity of Fruits and Fruit Byproducts through an Introductory Food Chemistry Experiment for High School
Cristina Soares, Manuela Correia, Cristina Delerue-Matos, and M. Fátima Barroso
Journal of Chemical Education 2017 94 (9), 1291-1295
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00045

Using Flavor Chemistry To Design and Synthesize Artificial Scents and Flavors
Jessica L. Epstein, Michael Castaldi, Grishma Patel, Peter Telidecki, and Kevin Karakkatt
Journal of Chemical Education 2015 92 (5), 954-957
DOI: 10.1021/ed500615a

Identification and Analysis of Bioactive Components of Fruit and Vegetable Products
Francis M. Mann
Journal of Chemical Education 2015 92 (5), 892-895
DOI: 10.1021/ed500309y

Making Sense of Olive Oil: Simple Experiments To Connect Sensory Observations with the Underlying Chemistry
Richard A. Blatchly, Zeynep Delen, and Patricia B. O’Hara
Journal of Chemical Education 2014 91 (10), 1623-1630
DOI: 10.1021/ed300557r

The Science of Chocolate: Interactive Activities on Phase Transitions, Emulsification, and Nucleation
Amy C. Rowat, Kathryn A. Hollar, Howard A. Stone, and Daniel Rosenberg
Journal of Chemical Education 2011 88 (1), 29-33
DOI: 10.1021/ed100503p

Investigating Trees: Wood

Nanowood: A Unique Natural Nanomaterial That Can Be Obtained Using Household Chemicals
Ievgen Nedrygailov, Darragh O’Brien, Scott Monaghan, Paul Hurley, Subhajit Biswas, and Justin D. Holmes
Journal of Chemical Education 2024 101 (11), 4931-4936
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00166

From Waste Paper to Cellulose: Building Environmental Awareness by Chemical Technology from Pragmatistic Pedagogy
Yannan Chen, Tao Zhang, Xuejie Yue, and Fengxian Qiu
Journal of Chemical Education 2024 101 (3), 1218-1226
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c01024

Easy, Bright, Fluorescence Demonstration of Buffer Action
Mariana Dykstra, Yejin Chung, and Mark Muyskens
Journal of Chemical Education 2024 101 (2), 701-705
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00792

Scientific Activities for the Engagement of Undergraduate Students in the Separation and Recycling of Waste
Miquel Barceló-Oliver, Carlos P. Cabello, Joan Torrens-Serra, Manuel Miró, Catalina Cabot, Rafael Bosch, and Montserrat R. Delgado
Journal of Chemical Education 2021 98 (2), 454-460
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00423

Hands-On Demonstration of Natural Substance Fluorescence in Simple Tree Extracts: Sycamore
Janice Wharton, Isaac Izaguirre, Alayna Surdock, Michael VandenBerg, Shane Bolhuis, Joshua Howard, and Mark Muyskens
Journal of Chemical Education 2018 95 (4), 615-619
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00611

Wildfires in the Lab: Simple Experiment and Models for the Exploration of Excitable Dynamics
Christian Punckt, Pablo S. Bodega, Prabha Kaira, and Harm H. Rotermund
Journal of Chemical Education 2015 92 (8), 1330-1337
DOI: 10.1021/ed500714f

Identification of Paper by Stationary Phase Performance
Michael J. Smith, Ilda C. Vale, and Fiona M. Gray
Journal of Chemical Education 2014 91 (10), 1679-1683
DOI: 10.1021/ed400473g

New Paper from Newspaper
Journal of Chemical Education 2001 78 (11), 1512A
DOI: 10.1021/ed078p1512

Analyzing Trees: Natural Products

Studies on the Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Berberine, (−)-β-Hydrastine, and Jatrorrhizine from Goldenseal Root (Hydrastis canadensis L.) and Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ Stem Bark
Minchao Guo, Muhammad Waleed Baig, Shane Carney, Ferdia O’Malley, Joshua Odidison, Amirul Helmi Idris, Stacey Li Hi Shing, John O’ Brien, James W. Barlow, and John J. Walsh
Journal of Chemical Education 2025 102 (4), 1643-1650
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c01132

Efficient and Simple Extraction Protocol for Triterpenic Acids from Apples
Michelle Wiebel, Kathrin Bensberg, Luca Wende, Rebecca Grandrath, Kathrin Plitzko, Claudia Bohrmann-Linde, Stefan F. Kirsch, and Nils Helge Schebb
Journal of Chemical Education 2024 101 (5), 2087-2093
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c01328

Antioxidant Capacity of Rhizophora mangle Bark Extracts: A Contextualized Approach in the Teaching of Analytical Chemistry
Bruna M. Damm, Izabela de F. Schaffel, Gabriel F. S. dos Santos, Lilia E. S. Azevedo, Rafael de Q. Ferreira, and Paulo R. G. de Moura
Journal of Chemical Education 2023 100 (11), 4449-4455
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.3c00418

Synthesis and Analytical Characterization of Purpurogallin: A Pharmacologically Active Constituent of Oak Galls
Alexandra E. Kelly-Hunt, Aman Mehan, Sarah Brooks, Miron A. Leanca, Jack E. D. McKay, Nashad Mahamed, Daniel Lambert, Nicola M. Dempster, Robert J. Allen, Andrew R. Evans, Satyajit D Sarker, Lutfun Nahar, George P. Sharples, Michael G. B. Drew, Alistair J. Fielding, and Fyaz M. D. Ismail
Journal of Chemical Education 2022 99 (2), 983-993
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.1c00699

Understanding the Uniqueness of Artocarpus Flavonoids: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Cycloartocarpin from the Roots of Artocarpus altilis
Aliefman Hakim, A. Wahab Jufri,,, and Putri Ayu Mutmainnah
Journal of Chemical Education 2020 97 (11), 4133-4136
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.0c00199

Determining Iron(III) Concentration in a Green Chemistry Experiment Using Phyllanthus emblica (Indian Gooseberry) Extract and Spectrophotometry
Parawee Rattanakit and Rasimate Maungchang
Journal of Chemical Education 2019 96 (4), 756-760
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.8b00817

Physicians as the First Analytical Chemists: Gall Nut Extract Determination of Iron Ion (Fe2+) Concentration
Mary T. van Opstal, Philip Nahlik, Patrick L. Daubenmire, and Alanah Fitch
Journal of Chemical Education 2018 95 (3), 456-462
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.7b00524

What Is the “Areca” in “Areca Nuts”? Extraction and Neuroactive Bioassay of Arecoline
Katherine Locock, Tim Bakas, Farid Sanai, Robin Allan, and Tina Hinton
Journal of Chemical Education 2016 93 (1), 197-201
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00312

Nature’s Chiral Catalyst and Anti-Malarial Agent: Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Cinchonine and Quinine from Cinchona calisaya
Anne-Marie Carroll, David J. Kavanagh, Fiona P. McGovern, Joe W. Reilly, and John J. Walsh
Journal of Chemical Education 2012 89 (12), 1578-1581
DOI: 10.1021/ed200713p

Up the Garden Path: A Chemical Trail through the Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Gary M. Battle, Gwenda O. Kyd, Colin R. Groom, Frank H. Allen, Juliet Day, and Timothy Upson
Journal of Chemical Education 2012 89 (11), 1390-1394
DOI: 10.1021/ed300065s

Detection of Salicylic Acid in Willow Bark: An Addition to a Classic Series of Experiments in the Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory
Matthew D. Clay and Eric J. McLeod
Journal of Chemical Education 2012 89 (8), 1068-1070
DOI: 10.1021/ed300070s

Isolation of Betulin and Rearrangement to Allobetulin. A Biomimetic Natural Product Synthesis
Brian Green, Michael D. Bentley, Bong Y. Chung, Nicholas G. Lynch, and Bruce L. Jensen
Journal of Chemical Education 2007 84 (12), 1985
DOI: 10.1021/ed084p1985