The Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival is an annual celebration coordinated by the Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival Planning Committee, a coalition of local environmental nonprofits and agencies, and held at Leslie Science & Nature Center. This year, it will be held from noon to 4 p.m., April 28, with displays from 40 local environmental, nonprofit and governmental organizations; live animal demonstrations; hands-on activities; live entertainment; green building and commuting technologies; energy topics; water awareness; sustainable agriculture; and more.

Highlights include an all-species parade, where children are encouraged to wear a costume celebrating a living natural species on our planet and prance, preen or frolic as they proceed throughout the festival site; live animal experiences with Leslie Science & Nature Center’s amphibians, reptiles and birds of prey; naturalist-led hikes through Black Pond Woods; and tours of Project Grow’s Discovery Garden and Compost Education Center.

In the true spirit of Earth Day, this festival will be a zero-waste event with the help of Recycle Ann Arbor. Visitors can help keep 90 percent of the waste diverted from the landfill during the Earth Day event by bringing a reusable water bottle and putting their waste in the proper receptacles.

 

Admission is free. Location: 1831 Traver Rd., Ann Arbor. For more information, visit A2Earthday.org.