(Photos | Courtesy of The Environmental Center)
Celebrate. Connect. Take Action.
It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, and we at The Environmental Center have reimagined our event in safe and meaningful ways for Central Oregonians to enjoy. Here are a few highlights of the new celebration. Visit our Earth Day webpage for ALL the info!
Announcing the 2020 Earth Day artwork by Jefferson Greene
Táxshpash, Paiute, Wasq’ú and Nimiipuu Bands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
Each year, the annual Earth Day event includes original artwork from a local artist. This year’s celebration features a beautiful piece by Jefferson Greene, who created a unique expression of what Earth Day evokes for him and a fierce encouragement to examine our own individual actions. The images above depict a few close-ups of Jefferson’s final piece. View the artwork and learn more about Jefferson here.
Are you up for a friendly competition?
We created an Earth Day-themed game that challenges you to connect, celebrate and take action at home — anything from turning off your lights to writing a nature poem to cooking a plant-based meal. It’s silly, fun and appropriate for ALL ages. Top ten winners will receive gift cards ($25-100) to local businesses!
Download the GooseChase app on your iPhone or Android, and search for the game by name Earth Day 2020 or by game code JW8837.
Start making your costumes…
… because we’re planning our first virtual parade! We’re going to create a video montage featuring all of your creative, colorful Earth Day garb. To join the parade, submit your photo or video by April 25 via our website. Share your costumes on social media; maybe even go for a walk around the block. If you need costume inspiration, check out photos from the last few parades here.
P.S. The first 100 parade participants will receive a sweet surprise!
Story of the Earth Guardians
Friday, April 24th at 12pm streaming on Facebook Live
Join us for a live event with artist Teafly Peterson, creator of the three Earth Guardian puppets you’ve seen at our events! Teafly will share the story of the Guardians and offer a chance to see them up-close.
Earth Day coloring book
We’ve compiled 12 Earth Day-themed images for you to color to your heart’s content! Perfect for kids and adults to decompress and focus on something creative. DOWNLOAD HERE
Garden & nutrition education… at home!
Since we can’t work alongside students right now, we’re bringing hands-on garden and nutrition education to families in their own homes. Here are a few highlights, and check out our latest blog post for an update on our learning garden and links to more resources.
- Gardening with Kids at Home — Short how-to videos each week featuring fun, simple garden activities to do at home. Denise and Nora have already filmed how to make seed tape, seed ‘bombs’, a living necklace and more.
- Story Time with Tracy — Our FoodCorps Service Member is hosting story time in our Learning Garden each week. Settle in and enjoy a read-aloud featuring garden and nature-themed books.
- Grab & Go Garden and Nutrition Activity Kits — Our team is passing out a free activity kit each week in Redmond during school meal distribution hours. For those not in Redmond, we’re also sharing the activities on YouTube and our blog.
View all of our garden videos on YouTube and Facebook. New content each week!
A few more things…
We’re excited to partner with Worthy Brewing to present live music on Earth Day! Tune in on April 22 from 6-8pm for a livestream performance by Greg Botsford of G Bots and the Journeymen. For every Worthy six pack sold that day, Worthy will donate $5 to a relief fund that supports local musicians during this time.
The Central Oregon Climate Strike, led by local youth, will take place digitally from April 21-April 24. Organizers will use social media to promote climate activism. Follow @co_youthclimatestrike on Instagram to participate and support!
And last but not least, we are hopeful that our Forest Explorers camps will be able to run this summer. Sign up today! Due to COVID-19, there’s a possibility that our summer programs may be modified or cancelled for the safety of our campers and staff. We will keep you informed.
