Twisting, jumping, swinging, and fish juggling. That’s how Dic Wheeler addresses environmental issues.

Dazzling an audience with circus magic while advocating for environmental awareness, Mr. Wheeler has people laughing and learning at the same time.

The co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit theatre company Art Farm in Connecticut, Mr. Wheeler is one of an assortment of speakers, instructors and facilitators scheduled to take part in One-Day University: Arts, Culture and Sustainability, being held at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School on June 23. The first-of-its-kind day of learning is being hosted by the Adult and Community Education of Martha’s Vineyard.

Just like the limbs of acrobats intertwine, so will the themes of art and sustainability at this educational event, said Lynn Ditchfield, executive director of ACE MV and a member of the One-Day University steering committee.

Mrs. Ditchfield, who is also a member of both the Martha’s Vineyard Arts and Culture Collaborative and the Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellowship, said she and handful of others involved in the two groups began to wonder why forces such as these were not working together. “We thought, wait a minute, these two groups should not be separate . . . the combination of arts and sustainability is so powerful,” she said, describing the inspiration for the event.

Founded in 2008, ACE MV continues a long tradition on the Island of offering the community a broad range of courses and practical training opportunities, many for college credit, throughout the year.

Community members participating in the One-Day University, which runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., can choose among a total of 13 workshops and eight roundtable discussions. Topics covered in the workshops share a common goal of addressing community resilience and sustainability, ranging from Becoming a Skilled Change Agent to Circus for a Fragile Planet. The event also features 20 gallery exhibits.

Mrs. Ditchfield hopes that the broadness of the event will attract and connect people of different ages, cultures and fields of expertise to exchange knowledge and ideas.

Music, film, theatre and yoga will go hand in hand with business, energy, education, culture and agriculture as the lines between art and sustainability merge.

“The idea is figuring out common language between these points,” said David White, director of The Yard and host of a workshop for One-Day University called Art, Food-gathering and Change.  “When you connect or cross the wires of seemingly nonintersecting, parallel thoughts or activity, that is where new ideas and new leadership come from.”

While Mr. White will be exploring the power of art in cultural and civic change, Mr. Wheeler will introduce attendees to acrobatics, juggling and comedy sketches as tools for addressing environmental topics.

“With younger audiences or perhaps more skeptical audiences, the circus makes you laugh and smile, so when you are in that place you are more likely to change,” Mr. Wheeler said. “Sometimes people think they know exactly what an environmentalist will say and just don’t want to hear it, so this grabs their attention in a different way.”

Using the body as a means for communication also emphasizes individual responsibility.

Through yoga, meditation and breath work, Sherry Sidoti, owner and creative director at FLY Yoga School, plans to bring awareness to the importance of self as the starting place for a healthy, sustaining community in a workshop called Earth Healing Through Self Healing. “If we are struggling on the inside, no matter how good our intentions are to serve the world, we won’t have a positive way to contribute unless we ourselves are in balance,” Ms. Sidoti said. “From the yoga perspective, none of that can happen until our interior is also sustainable, nurtured, alive and vibrant.”

The event will be led by Robert Leaver, described as a psychologist, writer and social entrepreneur, and will include a keynote address on storytelling with Susan Klein and roundtable discussions ranging from healthcare issues to Island Grown Schools to shell recycling.

Mrs. Ditchfield hopes that artists come to explore the business and agriculture spectrum, and farmers and business people come to explore the arts.

“We want to take the excitement that comes from a conference such as this and keep it moving,” she said.

Participants attending One-Day University and other affiliated activities that weekend can earn one graduate or undergraduate credit from Fitchburg State University that can be transferable to most colleges.

One Day University will be held at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School on June 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register online for One Day University at acemv.org. Early bird registration costs $65 and ends Friday, June 1. Regular registration costs $99. Lunch will be catered by The Kitchen Porch.