SOUTH PORTLAND — South Portland Land Trust has numerous ways to get involved this month to celebrate Earth Day. Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 that provides an opportunity for citizens to demonstrate support for environmental protection. 

“Over the past two years, the pandemic has brought people out to South Portland parks and trails as they looked for outdoor activities in their community,” said Dana Bettez, membership and engagement manager for the land trust. “We are excited to offer a weekend full of events covering an array of programming and interests, from clean-ups to climate change to container gardening,”

According to a South Portland Land Trust news release, “There are so many ways to get involved across the city. From clean-ups to trail work, stories to photo contests, and workshops to gardening classes, we have it covered.” 

To kick off the weekend events, South Portland Land Trust will host an En-ROADS Climate Workshop on April 22, at 7:30 p.m. The workshop educates participants about climate change solutions and the impacts. The event is free of charge, but registration is required. For Zoom information, visit  www.climateinteractive.org/.

“This Climate Workshop will engage participants in suggesting specific climate change interventions, such as incentivizing electric car use, expanding renewable energy capacity, implementing a carbon tax, planting more forests, etc., and then use En-ROADS to explore the potential benefits and impacts of these actions on the earth’s climate,” Bettez said. “We’ll explore which actions have substantial impacts and appreciate in what particular ways.”

South Portland Land Trust will host a city-wide clean up on April 23 at 9 a.m. There are three locations where volunteers can pick up supplies and learn where to go drop off trash. The locations are east, central, and west South Portland. It is a family-friendly event. All children must be accompanied by an adult. At 1:30 p.m. residents can join the South Portland Land Trust for trail maintenance at Clark’s Pond Trail. 

“Our meeting location has expanded from one check-in at Mill Creek Park to three, covering the east, west, and central portions of the city, with clean up locations happening in each surrounding area,” Bettez said. “The support of volunteers and businesses in this event is crucial, and we are excited collaborate with the community to take care of the outdoor spaces we use and adore.”

South Portland Parks and Rec is hosting self-guided activities from April 18-25. The activities include a story walk through Hinckley Park. Story panels will be located at Hinckley Park to read along while walking. Four geocaches will be placed throughout the parks for residents to find. Once they are found, participants can sign their name on the paper inside for a chance to win one of the prizes. Coordinates for the geocaches will be posted on Monday, April 18, on the South Portland Parks and Recreation Facebook page.

South Portland Public Library will host an Earth Day-themed story time on April 19, at 10 a.m. and the library will host an Earth Week Craft Day, that will allow kids to create art inspired by earth. This event takes place on Tuesday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to noon.

A Trout Brook trail walk and education session on Sunday, April 24, will close the land trust’s Earth Day activities. There will be more activities the following Saturday. For more information, visit the land trust website.

The rain date for all outdoor events is on Sunday, April 24. Preregistration is recommended for the events and the links can be found on the website.