An annual springtime tradition is just days away and the Clark Public Utilities StreamTeam is excited to invite the entire community for a morning of engaging, interactive and nature-based entertainment.
The 28th Clark Public Utilities Earth Day Fest will bring environmentally minded folks from across Clark County together for an online celebration of the planet we all call home.
As with last year’s celebration, the popular community event will be anchored around several livestreamed events designed to be eco-friendly entertainment for families and people all ages.
“This year’s celebration will feature our most popular Earth Day Fest activities,” said Maddy Loy, StreamTeam Program Coordinator at Clark Public Utilities. “These won’t be the kind of online presentations where people sit back and listen — our presenters are bringing hands-on, interactive and informative activities that everyone is sure to love.”
This year’s virtual event starts at 9 a.m. April 23 with an environmental storytime for all elementary and middle school-aged kids, hosted in partnership with Clark County Clean Water. The entire event will be presented over Zoom.
At 10 a.m., Brandon Burger of the Backyard Bird Shop will teach participants how to support local bat and bird populations and how to turn our backyards into sanctuaries for our feathered friends. The first 20 Earth Day Fest registrants will be offered a free birdhouse kit and detailed assembly plans that can be picked up in advance of the presentation.
At 11 a.m., nature aficionados will have the opportunity to strut their stuff during a head-scratching, hourlong environmental trivia challenge. The event will include a range of questions that are challenging but accessible for whiz-kids of all ages. Everyone will be sure to be stumped at least once along the way. The top competitors will win some exciting prizes that were generously donated by local businesses.
Not a trivia buff, but still want a prize? No problem! Folks can also win prizes by getting photos of themselves participating in the events then posting them on social media with the tag #earthdayfest2022.
Over the years, Earth Day Fest evolved from a modest morning of tree-planting into a community tradition that drew hundreds of volunteers to weed pulls, trash pickups and tree-planting restoration events, as well as numerous community partners and thousands of visitors to its family-friendly festival at Salmon Creek Regional Park.
Because the event has become such a beloved activity for many in the community, StreamTeam transformed it to bring everyone together while still staying safely apart.
“We are looking forward to the day when we can all come together again to continue our tradition of tree planting at Salmon Creek and interacting at our fair,” Loy said. “But the feedback on last year’s online, interactive programming was great, and we’re confident that this year will be a hit as well.”
To participate in the virtual Earth Day Fest, register online at Eventbrite.com and or “Clark Public Utilities Earth Day Fest” or use the link: bit.ly/37ccRfa. Once registration is complete, you can sign up for notifications via email that include updates and reminders for this year’s Earth Day Fest.
More information is also available at streamteam.net/earthdayfest.
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
