Earth Day weekend events in HRM area
Here are just a few of the public events taking place this weekend as well as on Earth Day on Monday.
SATURDAY, APRIL 20:
People’s Parade, bird watching, science and sports gear donations
The day kicks off early with an 8 a.m. guided bird walk, hosted by the Nova Scotia Bird Society. Board director Lori Buhlman will lead participants on a walk along the Bisset Trail in Cole Harbour to see what birds they can find.
From noon to 5 p.m., the Dartmouth Community Health Board is accepting donations for gently used sporting equipment. If you have sporting goods or clothing you’ve outgrown, feel free to drop it off at the Decathlon Store at the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth.
Back for a second year, the People’s Parade for Life on Earth begins at 2 p.m. at Sackville Landing on the Halifax waterfront. Mi’kma’ki Water Walkers will lead the parade along the water to Peace and Friendship Park for a 3 p.m. community gathering that will include food, activities and entertainment. Anyone is welcome to join the parade, which will feature elders and youth, drummers, performers, puppets, costumes and more.
On both Saturday and Sunday, the Discovery Centre is hosting Earth Explorers Weekend from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Included with your price of admission, participate in hands-on climate action activities throughout the centre, watch a Genaction science demo, explore the Earth in Dome Theatre films, dive into science with Ocean School, and more.
SUNDAY, APRIL 21:
Community gardening, clean energy seminar, vegetable growing, and an “Invasive Species Walk”
The Rotary Club of Halifax and Parker Street Food Bank are starting the day by hosting a community gardening event at 9 a.m. At 2415 Maynard St., folks can join in on creating a community garden right in north-end Halifax.
From 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., join the Clean Energy & Equity Network for an interactive lesson on clean energy and equity in Nova Scotia. The event is located in Middle Sackville at 45 Connolly Rd.
There will also be a session on vegetable growing, hosted by the Common Roots Urban Farm on Spring Garden Road. From 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., come talk to real farmers about starting your own vegetable garden.
One of the last events of the day includes an “Invasive Species Walk” at Frog Pond Park from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., organized by the Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council. For this guided session, the council asks that participants download the inaturalist app in advance.
MONDAY, APRIL 22:
Netukulimk lesson, badge-beading, cove cleanup, and climate activism
Internationally known as Earth Day, Monday will start off at 11 a.m. with a seminar on Netukulimk, the Indigenous practice of creating a sustainable connection to the land. Hosted by Every One Every Day, the event will take place at 2169 Gottingen St.
The Every One Every Day organization will also be holding a badge-beading workshop. Hosted at the same place as their first event, participants can create natureinspired beaded badges, while learning about plant medicine in Mi’kmaq culture. This event will run from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
There will be a land and sea cleanup at Wrights Cove from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. Scotian Shores Ocean Warriors is inviting volunteers to help tidy up the cove, located on the Dartmouth side of the Bedford Basin. The organization is asking participants to RSVP in advance by emailing scotianshores@gmail.com. Bags and gloves will be provided.
Earth Day in Halifax will finish off with a workshop called “How to Navigate a World on Fire with Grace, Courage and Good Cheer,” held at the Halifax Shambhala Centre. The session will include conversations about author and activist Joanna Macy’s climate-change activism. The workshop will begin at 7 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. Looking for more? With such a multitude of events happening across the HRM this weekend, these are just a few highlights of what the municipality is up to this Earth Day.
For more information on celebrating Earth Day in the HRM, you can visit the Energy and Environment tab at Halifax.ca.