Earth Day 2007
Cover Story: Earth ‘Day’ events - Nineteen ways to honor Earth Day in metro Atlanta
They call it Earth “Day,” but events honoring our planet and actions intended to help heal it take place in Atlanta for more then a week. Here are a few of them:
SUSTAINABLE ATLANTA ROUNDTABLE SPRING 2007 TRANSPORTATION SERIES Part two of three in a series covering the horror that is Atlanta transit. Participating panelists include Cheryl King, director, Transit Planning Board; Laura Ray, executive director, Clifton Corridor Transportation Management Association; and David Southerland, executive director, Perimeter Transportation Coalition. Free. Fri., APRIL 13, 7:30-9 a.m. All Saints Episcopal Church, Ellis Hall, 634 W. Peachtree St. 404-873-3173. www.earthsharega.org.
ARABIA MOUNTAIN HIKE AND TOUR Ecologist Mal Hodges leads the way up the granite monadnock pointing out sunnybells, sparkleberries and yellow daisies along the way. E-mail Mimi Bittick, mbittick@tnc.org, to register. $10. Sat., APRIL 14. 3787 Klondike Road, Lithonia. 404-253-7208. www.nature.org/georgia/.
STEP IT UP ATLANTA 2007 A nationwide grassroots demonstration challenging Congress to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050. Make a poster demanding action against global warming, take a picture and send it to your congressman or congresswoman. Sponsored by Georgia Interfaith Power & Light. Sat., APRIL 14, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Morehouse College, King Chapel, 830 Westview Drive. 404-588-9878. www.gipl.org.
10TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY AT GEORGIA TECH Beginning Sat., APRIL 14, students and professors band together for a weeklong series of events featuring sustainability workshops, a screening of An Inconvenient Truth, a bluegrass concert and a lecture by Al Gore. Times and locations vary. Through April 22. 404-894-2004. www.earthday.gatech.edu.
NATIONAL EARTH DAY SUMMIT: “AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: STEWARDSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY” Presidential candidate Barack Obama is rumored to be attending the town-hall panel discussion, along with U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta and leading national environmentalists. Radio talk-show host Valerie Jackson moderates the meeting. Free (tickets required). APRIL 19, 7-9 p.m. Morehouse College, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, 830 Westview Drive. 404-872-9453 ext. 13. www.keepingitwild.org.
EARTH DAY LEADERSHIP BREAKFAST Metro Atlanta’s nonprofit business leaders talk sustainability over biscuits and shade-grown coffee. $50. APRIL 20, 8-10 a.m. 817 W. Peachtree St. 404-962-8700. www.earthsharega.org.
HOOCHIE ON THE COOCHIE The somewhat scandalously titled fundraiser benefits the Nature Conservancy with a birds-of-prey flight show, dinner, dancing, a silent auction and much more. E-mail Mimi Bittick, mbittick@tnc.org, for details. $100. APRIL 20. Alexandra Park, 1050 West Conway. 404-253-7208. www.nature.org/georgia/.
CLEAN AND GREEN Learn what the heck mulch is as a volunteer landscaper/cleaner-upper at Piedmont Park. APRIL 21, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Magnolia Hall, 400 Park Drive. 404-876-4024. www.piedmontpark.org.
DUNWOODY NATURE CENTER VOLUNTEER DAY Bring calamine lotion and wear long sleeves to brave the budding poison ivy during the center’s Earth Day trail cleanup. APRIL 21, 9-11 a.m. 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody. 770-394-3322. www.dunwoodynature.org.
OAKHURST ARBORETUM A grand-opening celebration followed by a guided tree walk. Free. APRIL 21, 9:30 a.m. Oakhurst Community Garden, 435 Oakview Road, Decatur. 404-522-4097. www.treesatlanta.org.
DOWNTOWN OAKHURST EARTH DAY CELEBRATION AND PARADE March to the beat of the Abominable Seed & Feed Band from downtown Oakhurst to the Oakhurst community garden and back. Locations vary. Free. APRIL 21. Children’s events: 10 a.m.-noon. Parade: noon-2 p.m. Music and entertainment: 2 p.m.-until. 404-371-1920. www.oakhurstgarden.org.
EARTH DAY KIDS FEST Captain Planet swoops in to teach kids and parents about global warming and conservation. Bicycle riders get in free! Free-$5. APRIL 21, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Chattahoochee Nature Center, 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. 770-992-2055. www.chattnaturecenter.com.
INMAN PARK ARBORETUM Grand opening of the neighborhood’s open-air tree museum complete with granite plaques and Latin names. Free. APRIL 21, 1 p.m. Inman Park Community Center, 1083 Austin Ave. 404-522-4097. www.treesatlanta.org.
EARTH DAY WORKSHOP AND CONCERT Singing about trees can be just as therapeutic as planting them. Sponsored by Charis Books and More and the Pine Lake Cultural Affairs Committee and featuring Terry Garthwaite and Becky Reardon. APRIL 21. Workshop: $50-$65. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Concert: Free-$12. 8 p.m. Pine Lake Clubhouse, 300 Clubhouse Drive, Pine Lake. www.elisewitt.com.
PARTY IN THE PARK Live music, cocktails, goodies from Whole Foods and a silent auction featuring a Serenbe getaway and a Nantahala rafting trip for two. $50. APRIL 21, 7-10 p.m. Atlantic Station, Central Park, 17th and State streets. 404-873-3173. www.earthsharega.org.
ARMS AROUND ATLANTA CELEBRATION AND ORGANIC FARMER’S MARKET Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to remove 10,000 illegally dumped or used tires, clean up 6,000 bags of litter and collect more than 40,000 pounds of electronic waste to tidy up Atlanta neighborhoods and parks. The farmer’s market features goods from local growers. Application deadline for gardeners and farmers is Fri., April 13. Celebration: APRIL 21, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.; APRIL 22, 1-6 p.m. Farmer’s Market: APRIL 21, noon-6 p.m.; APRIL 22, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Grant Park, 800 Cherokee Ave. 404-330-6850. www.atlantaga.gov/mayor/greener_atlanta_102306.aspx.
PARTY FOR THE PLANET North Georgia’s Kangaroo Conservation Center, home to a whopping 300 of the bouncy buggers, hosts a weekend’s worth of activities including interactive exhibits, educational stations and hands-on fun. $17.50-$27.50. APRIL 21-22. 222 Bailey-Waters Road, Dawsonville. 706-265-6100. www.kangaroocenter.com.
GOOD MEWS EARTH DAY OPEN HOUSE A meet-and-greet with Ringo, Troy, Harold and all the other kitties as well as a recyclables drop-off. Aluminum cans, plastic bottles, newspapers and more accepted. Free. APRIL 22, 11 a.m. 736 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite A-3, Marietta. 770-499-2287. www.goodmews.org.
CORPORATE GREEN DAY CHALLENGE While the name may sound like an anti-sponsorship dare to the pop-punk rockers Green Day, the event is actually an environmentally focused corporate-employee volunteer day. Say that three times fast. APRIL 28, 9 a.m.-noon. 404-873-3173. www.earthsharega.org.
??More Green Guide:
?