It’s spring, and along with the budding trees and sprouting tulips, the calendar of seasonal festivals is rapidly filling up. Earth Day is upon us, too (tomorrow, on Tuesday, April 22), and some of the approaching events hold a particular focus on sustainability and climate.
A number of celebrations and fairs will be taking place on Saturday, April 26, in communities such as Stillwater, Oakdale and Northfield:
- Northfield Earth Day, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., will feature a variety of earth-friendly and community-conscious exhibitors and farmers’ market vendors.
- The Valley Eco Fair in Stillwater, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will help visitors explore more than two dozen vendors and encourages folks to “travel green” (walk, bike or carpool) to the event.
Not to be outdone, the city of Eagan is hosting a week of drop-in events that began this past Saturday, April 19, with hands-on activities that include crafts, service opportunities and tree planting.
An Interfaith Climate Initiative
St. Paul has an ambitious upcoming event as well. Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 17! The Eco Fair on Summit is being hosted by a new alliance of churches, under the auspices of Minnesota Interfaith Power and Light (MnIPL). Many faith-based organizations maintain subcommittees that focus on “care for creation” or environmental stewardship.
Josh Colton serves on one such group as a member of St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church near Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Last year he attended an electric vehicle (EV) expo at a church in Bloomington and thought to do something similar at St. John’s. Rather than leaning on his church’s limited capacity to pull off a big event, he reached out to a number of other churches in the neighborhood, all of which operate committees that have a similar focus on sustainability.
They, in turn, contacted Buff Grace, a community organizer and former Episcopal priest with a pedigree in pipeline protests, among other forms of environmental organizing. Grace now works with MnIPL, combining climate activism with a commitment to faith-based practice.
I became involved in this event — which will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 17 — at the invitation of our deacon at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church. Also participating are St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Unity Church-Unitarian, Saint Thomas More Catholic Church, Oak Grove Presbyterian Church in Bloomington and House of Hope Presbyterian Church on Summit Avenue, where the event will take place.
Kicking Gas to the Curb!
The Eco Fair on Summit will feature exhibitors that focus on transportation, home energy and lawn-and-garden practices, as well as food vendors, an electric school bus, an electric fire truck, EVs, electric bikes and a bike rodeo. Streets.mn will be there, as will many of the regional organizations advocating for sustainable transit and land use, including:
- Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota
- Move Minnesota (which promises an event with “no Tesla” among the EVs)
- Saint Paul Bike Coalition
- Our Streets
- Sustain Saint Paul
- Sierra Club North Star Chapter.
The original idea for the Eco Fair on Summit was an EV expo, which was promoted for drivers who wanted to “kick gas to the curb!” Many private owners will be showing a variety of makes and models of EVs, and a few EV dealers will be there. Organizers are hoping to draw e-bike owners as well.
If you use an e-bike, or a cargo bike that helped you switch from four wheels to two (or three!), drop me a line. If you have kids who are up to the challenge of practicing their street riding skills (on a block-wide stretch of Portland Avenue blocked off from motorized vehicles), please bring their bikes and helmets!
Although our nation is undergoing a retrenchment of its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, more and more of us are trying to step up — one household, one vehicle, one cyclist, one pedestrian, one mass transit rider and one gardener at a time. Why not seek out neighbors and organizations that are setting out to do the same?
Happy Spring!