“We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do anything about it.” ~ Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.

Earth Day 24,901-Mile Run/Walk Challenge

April 1 through 30 

The goal is to collectively see how many times participants can run the distance of the equator: 24,901 miles. Organizers need at least 415 people to commit to run at least two miles a day for the month to try to reach that number. Runners, walkers or joggers of all fitness levels may join this epic challenge. Recruit friends, family and co-workers. Log miles and report them via a results page daily or weekly, which will be tallied toward the overall goal.

Free participation. For more information, visit ChallengeInMotion.com/products/earth-day-challenge-24901-miles. Share the mission by tagging @VirtualRunChallenge and #EarthDayChallenge2022.

Onsite Paper Shredding Event

 April 2: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Collier County Waste Management offers onsite paper shredding the first Saturday of the month at three locations. The first 20 pounds are free. Additional shredding is $1 per pound.

 Naples Recycling Drop-Off Center, 2640 Corporate Flight Dr.; North Collier Recycling Drop-Off Center, 9950 Goodlette Rd. N.; Tim Nance Collier County Recycling Drop-Off Center, 825 39th Ave. NE (next to the fairgrounds), Naples. For more information, call 239-252-7575 or visit CollierCountyFl.Gov/recycle.

‘Honor the Earth’ Nature Awareness Event

 April 3: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Cypress Cove Landkeepers is hosting its first “Honor the Earth” nature awareness event at the Gore Nature Education Center. Explore the trails throughout this 10-acre preserve and hear about the Floridians that lived here during three very distinct eras of Collier County’s history, and how they reacted to and worked with the environment.

Wildlife biologist Deborah Jansen will be sharing her decades of experience supporting the comeback of the Florida panther and answering questions about Florida’s state animal. Children’s activities include coloring with natural materials, rock painting, creating nature-inspired jewelry and potting plants to take home.

Admission and parking are free; donations are welcome. Location: 4261 40th Ave. SE, Naples, in Golden Gate Estates. For more information on event and organization, visit ccLandkeepers.com.

Lovers Key Earth Day Celebration

April 22: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Join us for a full day of activities and fun this Earth Day at Lovers Key State Park! At 10:30 a.m., a park ranger will lead a wading trip into the seagrass flats at North Beach and discuss the many crabs, snails, starfish, and other creatures that inhabit this ecosystem. At 12:00 p.m., Park Manager Catherine Moses will kick off our new Read with a Ranger series by reading Dr. Seuss’ iconic children’s story, The Lorax, in the Exhibit Hall at the Welcome and Discovery Center. Listeners will be given a seed at the end of the story and invited to decorate small pots to house their seeds. At 1:30 p.m. in the Community Room at the Welcome and Discovery Center, a park ranger will lead an upcycled craft in which participants transform a plastic water bottle into a vibrant fish of their choosing. Participants are encouraged to bring their own bottles, but the park will have a limited number available for those who do not. At 3:00 p.m., a park ranger will close out the celebration with a beach cleanup on South Beach. Throughout the day, from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., there will be a myriad of informal Earth Day activities and educational materials available for the whole family to enjoy at the Welcome and Discovery Center. Reservations are required for all formal activities, and space is limited. All programs are free with paid park entry. To register, visit https://bit.ly/APRIL-22-Events

All programs are free with paid park entry. Location: Lovers Key State Park, 8700 Estero Blvd, Fort Myers. For more information and to register, visit Bit.ly/APRIL-22-Events.

SWFL RESET Center Earth Day Celebration 

April 22: 5pm

On April 22 at 5 p.m., join the SWFL RESET Center and the Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra’s Earth Day celebration. Music, art, poetry, storytelling, plants and community take center stage on the campus of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, located at 13411 Shire Lane (off Daniels Parkway), in Fort Myers.

Festivities include a wine and cheese reception with music by the Evan Carville Jazz Combo and an introduction to the RESET board of directors, a conversation with Joseph Bonasia, SWFL regional director for Florida Rights of Nature Network, about the Right to Clean Water constitutional amendment and a performance by the Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra.

Plein air artist Paul Arsenault’s “Shorelines” paintings will be on exhibit, along with a Mother Earth pop-up photography exhibit by Lisette Morales McCabe, who will also have a traditional storytelling station. 

The Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op.68, The Pastorale, begins at 7:30 p.m. The projection art of Lori Ersolmaz’s Poetic Films will be viewed during the performance intermission. Attendees of earlier RESET activities will receive a 25 percent discount. Millennial Brewery food and drink trucks will sell refreshments.

Register at ResetEarthDayCeleb.Eventbrite.com. Chamber Orchestra discount: My.GulfCoastSymphony.org/798?promo=earthday. See ad, page 15.

Earth Day at the Conservancy

April 23: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Join The Conservancy of Southwest Florida, in Naples, for their biggest community celebration of the year, featuring live animal encounters, boat tours, food trucks, Bioblitz nature walks, their brand-new Learning Adventures Bus, fun exhibitors and more.

Locations; 1495 Smith Preserve Way. For more information, visit Conservancy.org/earthday.

Collier Waterkeeper Earth Day Jamboree 

 April 23: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cambier Park, located at 755 8th Avenue, South, in Naples, Collier Waterkeeper’s Save Our Planet - Earth Day Jamboree commemorates the 53rd Earth Day with a family-friendly, nonpartisan, educational day of activities, speakers, music, entertainment and video clips. Seven distinctly designed zones in the park include family zone, art zone, agency, governmental zone, scholastic zone, civic zone, beer and food zone, enterprise zone and electric vehicle zone. 

For more information, visit SaveOurPlanet.com. See ad, page 15.

‘Ding’ Darling Day Takes Conservation Carnival to Lakes Park

April 24: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To further its mission to reach and connect with underserved urban communities, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge will migrate its 33rd annual “Ding” Darling Day celebration to Lakes Park, in Fort Myers. This year, the refuge will jointly observe Earth Day, which falls two days earlier on April 22, with “Ding” Day.

Wildlife on Wheels will be at the center of the free “Ding” Darling Day at Lakes Park. Besides tours of the mobile nature experience, the refuge and DDWS have planned a full day of Conservation Carnival activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Special free outdoor activities include carnival games, prizes, Earth Day crafts, artist-in-residence programs, guided bilingual birding walks, a biking tour, snow cones and educational interactions with other local conservation organizations.

Location: 7330 Gladiolus Dr. For more information including supporting DDWS, call 239-472-1100 ext. 4, email [email protected] or visit DingDarlingSociety.org.

Arbor Day Earth Day/Mother’s Day Celebration

April 30

SWFL RESET Center and the Lee County Circular Design Challenge will conduct tree planting as part of Russ Ringland’s Future Forestry program along Veterans Parkway, in Cape Coral. Attendees are invited to bring music, art, poetry, cameras and their love of trees.

For more information, visit SWFLRESET.org/events. An Eventbrite invitation will be posted on their Community Calendar with registration info.