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The date of Earth Day this year is Monday, April 22, 2019, and a number of opportunities in and around Reno should give us all ample opportunity to celebrate and learn more about this amazing planet we live on.

• Monday, April 22: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Earth Day Festival on the Gateway Plaza of the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno at the Joe Crowley Student Union. Following the international theme of "Protect Our Species," this event will provide an array of activities to inform, educate and enjoy.

• Wednesday, April 24: 5:30-8:30 p.m., the Associated Students of the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä's Sustainability Speaker Series and Mini-Symposium, in the Wells Fargo Auditorium of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. An interdisciplinary mini-lecture series and research celebration of ÁùºÏ±¦µä's research faculty. Contributions from the departments of Political Science, Natural Resources, English, Social Work and more. Posters and refreshments from 5:30-6 p.m., lectures with Q&A from 6-8 p.m., and final reception from 8-8:30 p.m.

• Thursday, April 25: 7-9 p.m., Film screening, The Gateway Bug. Learn about the future of food and try some sustainable snacks in the Joe Crowley Student Union, Room 324.

• Friday, April 26: 8-10 a.m., Celebrate Arbor Day and help the Arboretum Board plant trees. Meet at the Donor Memorial Garden by the Pennington Medical Education building. Followed by a Tree Campus USA recertification ceremony.

• Saturday, April 27: Give back to the Earth! Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful is doing their Great Community Cleanup. Sign up at .

• Sunday, April 28: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., The big event this spring will be the Truckee Meadows Earth Day celebration at Mayberry Park. This has been organized and arranged in less than two months by an amazing group of volunteers and is going to be a beautiful celebration of the Earth and the systems that support it. Mayberry Park winds along the Truckee River and the river will serve as a backdrop and focus for the event. The river is a major source of water for the area - water that sustains all life. Celebrating the river and all the life that this amazing planet supports helped focus the organizers on a more focused theme of "Protect our Pollinators." This theme respects the fact that honey bees and insect pollinators are on the decline which is a huge problem for our food supply and ecosystems. Individuals can be a big help with their landscape and gardens. This event will be family friendly and is a zero alcohol event. It is focused on education and awareness. There will be food available for purchase from food trucks at the event but generally, this is a very non-commercial event. We are encouraging biking by having a bike valet to park your bike and if you ride your bike, you get a raffle ticket for some great prizes. We are also thinking beyond recycling by asking people to bring reusable items like plates, utensils, napkins and water bottles. For every reusable item, you will also get a raffle ticket in addition to the great feeling that comes from simply doing something good.

So, please join us and enjoy live music, delicious food, cultural performances, bird walks with Tom Stille of River School Farm, pollinator planting and education, a kid's fun zone, live screen printing from Laika Press, morning yoga led by Zach Cannady, sound healing, arborist-led tree walks, ecological demonstrations, drum circles and plenty of hands-on learning of ways we can better steward this fascinating planet.

I hope you can make to some or all of these wonderful events.