The Tahoe Sierra is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with a number of virtual events and activities to enjoy at home from a number of Tahoe organizations.
Take Care Tahoe partners and the South Tahoe Earth Day Planning Committee share daily earth and climate action-themed activities in celebration of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary from April 20 to 24.
Through collaboration with environmental education organizations around Tahoe and Truckee, these activities are designed to be fun and educational for both kids and adults. Each day is themed and includes a climate fact, specific actions to take, an activity to take part in, and a color that can be worn to show support.
California Earth Day Events
Participate in virtual events to celebrate earth day at resources.ca.gov/earthday2020
League to Save Lake Tahoe events
Look for local and regional events to participate in at keeptahoeblue.org/news/events
Plant a Sugar Pine
Pick up a sapling to plant a sugar pine. Find details and instructions at https://sugarpinefoundation.org/get-involved/at-home-activities.
SWEP environmental activities
Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships has put together a number of activities like reducing food waste, how to conserve energy and a Litter Scavenger Hunt at www.4swep.org.
Tahoe Institute for Natural Science
TINS has released its second children’s activity book and is hosting an Earth Week Scavenger Hunt at tinsweb.org.
Wild and Scenic Virtual Film Festival
Watch virtually from April 22 to May 1 at sierranevadaalliance.org/event/virtual-wild-and-scenic-film-festival.
Take Care Tahoe Earth Week Challenge
Join the Take Care Tahoe Earth Week challenge to make a difference. Take photos or videos throughout the week and share your experiences with your friends, family, teachers, or on social media using #TakeActionTahoe.
Mother Nature Monday: Help plan and eat three meals without any meat, and check-out the week-long scavenger hunt organized by the Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences.
Transportation Tuesday: To be more mindful of greenhouse gas emissions related to transportation, take action by registering for the 2020 Tahoe Bike Challenge from June 1 to 30, and go for a walk or ride your bike instead of driving for errands.
Waste Free Wednesday: To combat plastic pollution, which never breaks down in the environment and is a major source of litter in Tahoe, prepare a meal with little or no disposable packaging. The League to Save Lake Tahoe is offering activities to help people understand how much trash they generate and how to reduce their waste footprint, along with a fun neighborhood clean-up activity to Keep Tahoe Blue.
Thrifty Thursday: We all have the opportunity to reduce our impact on the planet. On Thursday, take action by turning off the lights and unplugging appliances to save energy and learn how to make a reusable grocery bag out of an old T-shirt.
Flourishing Friday: Forests and other non-agricultural lands absorb carbon dioxide emissions, so why not plant a tree! Plant a seed from your lunch (try an apple, cucumber, lemon, or tomato) and make a simple homemade hummingbird feeder to help pollinators.
As extra credit, on Friday, April 24 pick up a sugar pine tree seedling from the Sugar Pine Foundation from one of five locations around Lake Tahoe and Truckee and plant it. Pick-up locations and planting instructions available online.
For more detail and to get involved in Take Care Tahoe’s Earth Week activities, visit takecaretahoe.org/earth-week, and tag @takecaretahoe and #TakeActionTahoe.
