The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy has announced two free “Earth Month” programs in April that will encourage people to get outdoors and think about how they can protect the environment.
The festivities will include opportunities to adopt a tree with Tree Pittsburgh, explore solar-powered interactives with ZeroFossil, a local business that helps arrange sustainable events, and listen to an African drumming and dance performance by Legacy Arts Project. There will also be nature crafts, lawn games, face painting, balloon artists, free music and food, and other activities planned by community organizations.
The first event will take place from noon-3 p.m. April 6 at Westinghouse Park in Point Breeze North. The second will occur from noon-3 p.m. April 20 at McKinley Park in the Hilltop.
The celebration is funded by the Jack Buncher Foundation, and community partners that will offer activities include the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Outdoor Inclusion Coalition, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Tree Pittsburgh and Soil Sisters.
“Earth Month is a great time to collaborate with community partners and connect directly with families to celebrate the wonders of the natural world, promote environmental stewardship and simply have fun in the parks,” said James Brown, director of education and the Frick Environmental Center for the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
“By partnering with organizations like Soil Sisters and Tree Pittsburgh, children learn to care about the environment and green spaces in their neighborhoods,” he continued. “This year we bring the festivities to two great parks, in two great neighborhoods, with hope that these events help people learn, engage and take action for parks and the planet.”
For more information about the conservancy’s Earth Month programming, visit pittsburghparks.org/earthmonth.
Andrew writes about education and more for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at agoldstein@unionprogress.com.