Hazelwood Check It Out: St. Louis Earth Day is a Big Deal, Sunday

Now that most suburban dwellers in the have those nice, big, free, recycle bins that were delivered to our curbs from the garbage companies—whether it was three years ago or last week—we are all no doubt familiar with the notion of recycling.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. That's the slogan for Earth Day, April 22. Some call it the Earth's birthday party. 

According to our St. Louis Earth Day charitable organization, every day should be Earth Day, and truly, that's not such a bad idea. We're celebrating it Sunday this year, April 17.

Celebrating the Earth was the brainchild of a Wisconsin senator in 1970. It caught on and led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and legislation to protect clean air, clean water, and endangered species.

As much as some find protections and regulations imposed by environmental concerns to be burdensome, it seems unlikely that humans and other species in the future would regret the principles and practices surrounding our current Earth Day.

Who's to complain about a surplus of fresh air, clean water, and fewer landfills, dumps and toxins? Better to err on the side of caution one would think, with such critical resources for survival.

Be the Change. That's the St. Louis Earth Day theme this year and will be celebrated in full force Sunday, 11am-6pm at the MUNY Grounds in Forest Park.

You may of course drive your car there guilt-free and park, but there are also shuttles—one biodiesel and one compressed natural gas—running every 15 minutes between St. Louis Community College Forest Park Campus and the MUNY festival site. (You can dump hard to recycle items at the parking lot as part of the festival Recycling Extravaganza.)

The festival includes at least 200 businesses, organizations, food vendors, exhibitors and artists demonstrating how they live Be the Change in order to make every day Earth Day.

Opening Ceremony is noon on the main stage, with St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay kicking off the All-Species Parade. You can costume-up in any species you like for that.

There will be live music, healthy food and Schlafly beer products. 

Free yoga, educational lessons, art projects and a meditation garden are promised.

Areas of interest are grouped together: Energy; Pet Care & Wildlife; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle; Arts & Crafts; Wellness; the Earth Day Café; Nature; Home; Transportation; Farmers Market.

If fairgoers participate in the Earth Day Challenge by doing two out of three of the following, they get an eco-friendly prize at the Information Booth, according to the festival website: Bring a reusable shopping bag, use a refillable water bottle or use alternative transportation to the MUNY Grounds.

In the spirit of Earth Day, we'll recycle and reuse a familiar lyric here. Meet me in St. Louis. Meet me at the fair. 

Happy Earth Day, every day.