Outdoor events to celebrate Earth Day in Greater Cincinnati

Local organizations are celebrating Earth Day this weekend with festivals and outdoor events.

They’re carrying on a 55-year-long tradition, started when the first Earth Day happened on April 22, 1970. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin promoted the day, calling on students to rally for environmental causes and oppose pollution with the same vigor they displayed while protesting the Vietnam War, according to the Library of Congress.

Since then, Earth Day has been recognized annually by hundreds of millions of people around the world, raising awareness for environmental causes from climate change to renewable energy production to biodiversity protection.

Here’s where you can observe Earth Day in Greater Cincinnati.

• Protect Your Wild Festival with Great Parks
  11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Winton Woods

  Great Parks will host a lake cleanup, exhibition with local sustainability organizations, free concert by The Grateful Dads, eco-art installation by Julia O. Bianco, a teddy bear repair clinic, and conservation panel about Great Parks' work and how you can make a positive environmental impact at home.

• Cincinnati Parks Earth Day Celebration
  11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Smale Riverfront Park

  The Cincinnati Parks Earth Day celebration will include a vintage market, live music, and games on the Schmidlapp Event Lawn.

• Spring Fest in Burnet Woods
  12 to 4 p.m. at Burnet Woods Trailside Nature Center

  Spring Fest will feature an immersive forest walk led by the Osher Center for Integrative Health’s Dr. Barbara Walker, nature education programming from Parks’ Naturalist Michael George, music by the Jazz Renaissance band, and information from over 30 environmental community organizations. The event is organized by University of Cincinnati Students for Burnet Woods in collaboration with Cincinnati Parks staff.

• Earth Day Hike at St. Anne Wetlands
  2 to 4 p.m. at the Northern Kentucky University Research and Education Field Station

  Northern Kentucky University and the Campbell County Conservation District will host Earth Day hikes, highlighting local flora and fauna. The organizations will lead guided tours through St. Anne Woods and Wetlands every half hour.

• Cincinnati Nature Center Earth Day Weekend
  April 26-27 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cincinnati Nature Center

  The nature center is offering free admission to Rowe Woods and Long Branch Farm & Trails the weekend after Earth Day with hopes that everyone can enjoy nature and the beautiful trails.

• Greater Cincinnati Earth Day
  April 26 from 12 to 5 p.m. at Summit Park, Blue Ash

  Greater Cincinnati Earth Day will feature more than 125 interactive booths, exhibits and a Green Career Fair. High schools, colleges and environmental organizations will be tabling in the Madtree "Parks & Rec" Tap House to showcase career and internship opportunities for students.

• Fort Thomas Forest Conservancy’s Earth Day Celebration
  April 27 from 12 to 4 p.m. at Tower Park, Fort Thomas

  The Earth Day Festival will include hands-on activities for kids, live music, sustainability education, and eco-friendly vendors.

Read more:

• Great Parks, The Nature Conservancy have a plan to bring a long-buried stream to life again
• LISTEN: From pollution to art: Artists use unlikely materials to create work that responds to the climate crisis
• Campbell County Public Library launches a seed library