Earth Day Fort Collins Keeps Momentum on Environmental Protection and Preservation

The Sustainable Living Association will hold their 11th annual Earth Day Fort Collins virtually from Thursday, April 22 through Saturday, April 24, to provide tips on how to reduce environmental impacts and how to celebrate Earth Day at home.

The Earth Day event will consist of three days of virtual events, from educational videos and speakers to workshops, activities, live-streamed music, and community stories. The Sustainable Living Association (SLA) has partnered with the City of Fort Collins to highlight their efforts on “Our Climate Future,” which centers around three updated environmental plans focused on equity: The Climate Action Plan, Energy Policy, and the Road to Zero Waste Plan.

“Earth Day is a time to celebrate. It’s a day to honor the earth”, said Kellie Falbo, Executive Director of the Sustainable Living Association. “We are relying on nature so much during this pandemic to help us stay healthy and sane; this event reminds us of our responsibility to protect the places we love,” Kellie said.

Community engagement is key to meeting each plan’s goals, and Earth Day is an opportunity to inform the community of issues and aid them in learning how to get involved. Earth Day provides an opportunity for community members to connect with non-profit organizations that are working towards environmental protection and preservation.

Local environmental programs and information will be shared on video through a virtual “booth” set-up. It will encourage participants to engage in an effort they are passionate about. SLA has also partnered with the online climate action competition SHIFT Earth Day Challenge for the second year, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to get 700 additional households to participate by Earth Day.

A total of 564 households signed up last year, with approximately 447 tons of CO2 being reduced, which is equivalent to removing 87 vehicles from Fort Collins roads for a year. SLA is also launching a free-of-charge Community Conversation Guide featuring tips on how to talk about climate change. The guide is accessible from SLA’s website listed below and educates people about communicating environmental issues while providing actionable ideas for people to put into place.

Poudre School District students participate in an essay writing contest every year on sustainability or climate change topics, with the top three winners being featured during SLA’s virtual event. The event will teach and involve the community in local environmental efforts, projects, and organizations by inspiring action through volunteerism and other means of support for local programs.

Earth Day has inspired individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. Fort Collins is known for its excellence in sustainability, with its citizens being active participants in the process, and is a model for other communities, with Earth Day being the primary outreach event.

A total of 14,000 people are anticipated to engage virtually during the three-day event.

For more information regarding Earth Day Fort Collins, visit www.sustainablelivingassociation.org/events/earth-day-fort-collins/ or to learn more about Sustainable Living Association, visit: https://sustainablelivingassociation.org.