Earth Day is an annual celebration of the modern environment movement that began in the 1970s.
This nationally recognized day is celebrated with everything from scheduled hikes and group trash cleanups to festivals with food and entertainment across the country.
This year Earth Day is Saturday, April 22. Here are events open to the public across Arizona:
Tucson & Southern Arizona
The Children’s Museum Tucson is holding its 23rd annual Tucson Earth Day Festival at 200 S 6th Ave, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Learn about seasonal birds at the Roper Lake State Park Bird Walk this Earth Day at 8 a.m.
Kartchner Caverns State Park is hosting their annual Bat Day celebration to celebrate their seasonal residents.
Phoenix Area
The Phoenix Zoo has numerous events planned to celebrate. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the zoo will have an Arizona walking trail tour, behavioral enrichment stations, a live rattlesnake and gila monster handling demo, an educational earth station destinations across the zoo, and more.
Keep Phoenix Beautiful and Republic Services present its 8th annual Earth Day Phoenix with music, food, and information about environmental safety. The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Steele Indian School Park, 300 E Indian School Rd.
The city of Mesa’s Earth Day celebration is from noon to 4p.m. at Hohokam Stadium, and will include a solar cooking demonstration, gardening and composting demonstrations, information on water harvesting for your landscape, recycled art, and more.
In Peoria, there will be a trash pick-up along the New River trail system from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and a festival with food and entertainment from 5 to 8p.m. at Westwing Park.
Flagstaff & Northern Arizona
The city of Flagstaff wants the community to celebrat from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Heritage Square, 111 W Birch Ave. Participants will begin with a “community clean up” and the day will continue with environmental workshops, local vendors tabling, and entertainment.
Red Rock State Park is celebrating Earth Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with nature hikes, info exhibits, crafts, special guests and more. This event is $7 for adults, $2 for children ages 7 to 14, and free for kids six and under.
Brandi Walker is a reporter for Arizona Sonora News, a service from the School of Journalism with the University of Arizona. Contact her at brandiwalker@email.arizona.edu.