Include Festival in Forest Park April 21-22, Film Series, Recycling Extravaganza and St. Louis Climate Summit
By Jen Myerscough,
Executive Director
St. Louis Earth Day
Each April, with the spring blooms comes a surge of awareness for and activities surrounding the Environment. St. Louis Earth Day will not only host one of the largest festivals in the world for the 29th consecutive year, but will be co-hosting the Saint Louis Climate Summit with Saint Louis University, kicking off in Grand Center, as the Festival ends on Sunday.
On April 3rd this year, we will kick off of our inaugural Earth Day Film Series premiere of “Gray Area – Wolves of the Southwest” at Webster University. The St. Louis Earth Day Film Series runs through the month of April. The complete schedule can be found at stlouisearthday.com. If your group would like to screen a film, there is still time to add it to the lineup! Contact laura@stlouisearthday.org to register your screening.
Once again, St. Louis Earth Day, joined by Saint Louis City Recycles, is hosting the annual Recycling Extravaganza on April 8th, with more than 15 collectors of hard-to-recycle materials on the parking lot of St. Louis Community College-Forest Park Campus. With the help of volunteers recruited by Brightside St. Louis, cars will be unloading a wide variety of materials to be recycled or repurposed by this year’s collectors starting at 9:30 am. Check the map at www.stlouisearthday.com/events/festival/rex so you can pack your car in the order you’ll be unloading. Styrofoam WILL NOT be collected this year, as it is an incredibly difficult material to properly recycle.
This event is a free to the community. (Electronics recycling may require a nominal fee for CRT-type TVs.) Many of these collectors have a social mission tied to their collection. “Free the Girls” collects gently used bras to help liberate women from the sex trade. Shoeman Water Project collects used shoes to sell and generate funds to build water wells around the globe. St. Louis HELP collects usable medical equipment to distribute to those who cannot afford it themselves.
Once again you will have 2 DAYS to enjoy the annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival, April 21st-22nd. The Festival attracts over 62,000 people to Forest Park. With 250 vendors, local musical acts, free yoga, Green Dining Alliance certified Food Trucks and booths featuring a variety of choices – including vegan and vegetarian options. The Festival is an easy and fun way for you and your family to celebrate everything Earth Day and connect with businesses, organizations, and services who help you live Earth Day Every Day.
Take the #EarthDayChallenge, not just one day, but everyday! The Earth Day Challenge consists of three parts:
- Always carrying a reusable bag and fillable water bottle with you to avoid using disposables;
- Using energy efficient transportation;
- Incorporating more plant-based meals into your diet.
These three simple steps can dramatically reduce your personal impact on the environment. You will be rewarded at the Festival for taking the challenge.
Live, local entertainment along with the best sustainably produced food and drink (including 5 breweries in 2018) are proudly served up by fine Green Dining Alliance (GDA) restaurants. Learn about urban farming, local environmental initiatives, visit with local farmers, enjoy our pet adoption area, create art, and participate in the fun educational activities that make THE St. Louis Earth Day Festival the best in the world.
For more information visit online at www.stlouisearthday.org.