CELEBRATE EARTH DAY ALL WEEK LONG!

By Ella Tyler

The 37th Earth Day will be celebrated across the world on April 22, but in our neck of the woods, the weather is so wonderful and there are so many activities and places to enjoy, we begin earlier and party longer.

Saturday, April 14 is Keep Houston Beautiful Day. Hundreds of volunteers will plant trees, pick up trash and paint over graffiti. The Keep Houston Beautiful organization makes sure these events are fun, with refreshments, music, and a celebrity or two. One project will be to plant 64 trees and 300 yards of grass along a five-block area of green space on Bastrop St. that was once a weeded, trash-ridden railroad right-of-way. Work will start at 8 am, beginning at 1410 Hutchins St. There are more than a dozen clean-ups scheduled for the day. To find an event near you, see Keep Houston Beautiful’s website or call (713) 839-8855. It is not necessary to sign up in advance. Also, as part of Keep Houston Beautiful Day local Firestone Tire and Service Centers are collecting residential used engine oil, residential automotive oil, and residential passenger and light truck scrap tires for recycling.

The 14th is also a national climate action day. Six Houston-area events will honor the national day of climate action, Step It Up 2007. The Houston area events will be held in locations ranging from Freeport to the Woodlands. For a list of climate actions in the area, go online. Woodlands Green makes its event do double duty by making “Be A Climate Action Hero” the theme for its Earth Day event. The event is at the Woodlands High School, 6101 Research Forest Drive, from 9 am to 2 pm. There will be more than $1,000 worth of prizes and more than 50 non-profit organizations, schools, agencies and businesses sharing their environmental message.

Nature Discovery Center in Bellaire will celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 14 from 10 am to 3 pm. with children’s crafts and activities, nature walks, environmental exhibitors, music on the front porch, the Scholastic Book Fair, and The Bellaire Garden Club Plant Sale. Admission is free. The Nature Center is at 7112 Newcastle. Techs&Trainers, a non-profit that refurbishes computers for people with disabilities, will accept computers for recycling at this event.

There will be an “Eco Picnic: A Christian Earth Day Celebration” on Saturday, April 21 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Clearing Ranch in Brenham. Matthew Sleeth, MD, author of “Serve God, Save the Planet” and L. Rusty Pritchard, Jr., Ph.D., editor of “Creation Care” magazine will speak singer/songwriter Glenn Green & band will perform. For details, see The Clearing Ranch’s website.

Mothers For Clean Air is hosting a 5K fun run on Saturday, April 21. There will also be a 1K Kids Run and a 3K Walk. All three events begin at the intersection of Newcastle and Evergreen in Bellaire, in front of the Nature Discovery Center. The post-race party will feature a display of hybrid vehicles, face painting and balloon art. For more details, visit MFCA’s website.

Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge will host an afternoon of outdoor activities at Champion Lake on Saturday, April 21 from 11 am until 2 pm. Enjoy canoeing, kayaking and boating tours, bird and butterfly viewing, walking the levee trail, and dip netting and fishing lessons in the lake for the kids. Champion Lake is located at the end of CR 417, two miles east of FM 1409 in southern Liberty County. Call the refuge office at (936) 336-9786 for more information.

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center celebrates Earth Day on Saturday, April 21, from noon to 4 pm. John Ferguson, soil scientist and owner of Nature’s Way Resources will be on hand to answer questions about composting and organic gardening. There will be a demonstration and races with mini – model solar cars built and donated by SEEDS: Shell Employees Encouraging the Development of Sustainability. Many local environmental groups will have displays. Live music and costumed characters will round out the day’s activities. The Houston Arboretum is at 4501 Woodway.

Earth Day will be celebrated at Armand Bayou Nature Center from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, Apr 21 and at the Houston Zoo on Saturday and Sunday April 21 and April 22 from 10 am to 3 pm. For more information about these events or other events, see CEC’s website.