New Date October 18 In Tower Grove Park
Enjoy Virtual Earth Day Festivities April 18-26 online at earthday-365.org
By Jessica Watson, PhD,
Executive Director, earthday365
The 50th Anniversary of Earth Day has turned into an opportunity to practice resilience and community building. Instead of a focus on resilience in the face of climate change, we must quickly adapt to a reality that changes day to day in the wake of COVID-19. For this reason, the St. Louis Earth Day Festival has to be postponed to Sunday, October 18 in Tower Grove Park. The very first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd, 1970.
Twenty million Americans participated, which at the time, represented ten percent of the country’s entire population. Now, we must come up with creative ways to mobilize an equal number of people in a safe celebration that spurs change — so the Earth Day Festival has gone digital. Presented by earthday365, the organization that has brought you the St. Louis Earth Day for decades, the Virtual Earth Day will celebrate the Earth’s Half Birthday with an interactive digital platform featuring the vendors and partners you know and love from the Festival, but with interactive content such as live yoga classes, lectures, and classes, as well as tons of games, coupons, and special content available during the week of April 18 – 26 online at www.earthday-365.org.
The virtual event’s goals will remain true to the aims to educate and empower the regional community for greater action toward a more sustainable future. The Virtual Earth Day Festival provides an opportunity for online visitors to learn about sustainable products and services offered by local businesses and meet nonprofits working in areas like nature, public health, and social justice.
earthday365’s mission is to “empower you and your community to create and celebrate a greener St. Louis – every day.” In addition to producing the St. Louis Earth Day Festival, this mission is accomplished through the organization’s year-round programming such as the Green Dining Alliance which helps restaurants transition towards sustainability, and also Recycling On the Go – a program which works with events throughout the region to green their options through planning for and implementing waste diversion strategies like recycling and composting.
To learn more about earthday365, its programs, and the St. Louis Earth Day Festival, visit online at www.earthday-365.org.