ACTIVITIES
Don’t forget to “LIKE” the official Earth Day Houston facebook page to keep up to date on all the wonderful activities we have planned. Don’t miss out on any of the fun!
Here’s a snapshot of some of the awesome things you and your family can expect at Earth Day Houston:
NEW THIS YEAR:Saint Arnold’s Beer Garden featuring Lawnmower, Santo and Spring Boch. Make sure to stop in, have a brew and relax at one of our picnic tables. Coke products, Bud Light, ZiegenBock and water will also be available for purchase with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Air Alliance Houston, the local non-profit that develops and organizes the festival as part of part of their mission.
ALSO NEW THIS YEAR:ARTISTS VILLAGE powered by Texas Art Asylum! Come visit with 9 LOCAL and FABULOUS ECO-MINDED Artists including the incredible 17 year old Grant of “Grant’s Eco Art.” Check him out on Great Day Houston.
Planned activities at Earth Day include interactive environmental awareness activities hosted by more than 40 green non profits highlighting land, air, water, sustainability, health and wildlife and habitat. Urban Harvest Local Fare will be open in support of locally-grown and sustainable products featuring Bee Hives & Water Cisterns, Bonsais and other flowers, and Organic Doggie Treats. Make sure to visit “Fork in the Road,” HEB’s food truck, rolling into the festival for the first time this year! HEB will also be offering every visitor to the Kids’ Zone a reusable shopping bag for every five plastic single use bags that are brought in. Kids can also visit educational areas sponsored by The Children’s Museum or participate in fun activities with Clif Bar Kids. Bring your old clothing or other used textiles to I M Green’s booth where they will be recycled! Join in the fun with Green Painter and help “paint by number” on larger than life canvasses depicting scenes of our hope for a sustainable Earth.
Kids will enjoy the Health Corps Stage providing family focused entertainment. Discovery Green’s popular water feature and play-scape are also available to energize kids of all ages.
Methodist Hospital Foundation will oversee the Healthy Living Zone promoting the benefits of healthy living through diet, exercise and more for kids and adults. This area will focus on prevention of cardiovascular diseases (the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S.).
The New Leaf (formerly Green Expo) Expo will feature consumer-friendly products and services to help Houstonians go green. Featured exhibitors include Deer Lake Lodge, Clif Bar, Texas Solar Outfitters, Built Green Custom Homes, Whole Earth Provision Co., and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Visit the New Leaf Energy booth #10, have your photo taken free in their fun “Eco Hero” capes and masks to share on Facebook, get some family-friendly tips on energy conservation, and learn how you can win a “green gift” of cash from New Leaf Energy!
Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas – Latino Legacy, Texas A&M Forest Service and U.S. Forest Service partners will promote the important link and connection between art and nature through hands-on activities and promotion of the Get to Know (G2K) program. A strong linkage between health and exposure to nature will also be highlighted. Smokey Bear will promote being careful with fire and Woodsy Owl will send his messages related to caring for the earth: Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute & Lend a Hand, Care for the Land!
Waste Management is the title sponsor of Earth Day Houston. Also supporting Air Alliance Houston is H-E-B, Direct Energy, HealthCorps, Coca-Cola, Metro, the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Houston Public Media, and Apache Corp. Green agency partners are Urban Harvest, Blackwood Educational Land Institute, Bayou Preservation Association, Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Earth Day Houston media support is provided by Houston Press, Houston Public Media, KRBE, Houston Family Magazine, My Table and The Greensheet.
Event proceeds benefit Air Alliance Houston, a non-profit whose mission is to reduce air pollution in the Houston region to protect public health and environmental integrity through research, education and advocacy.
ABOUT THE ZONES & STAGE SCHEDULES
AIR ZONE
The Houston Galveston Area Council powered by Metro Air Zone offers a range of stimulating, educational opportunities for the whole family. Get hands on with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s infra-red air monitoring camera, play “find the leak” with the City of Houston’s Bureau of Pollution Control and Prevention, let your kids learn about air chemistry through arts and crafts and find out how you can keep mosquitoes away without having to use chemical sprays.
LAND ZONE
Looking for a day of education and fun and for the entire family? Youth, teens and parents can celebrate Earth Day in the Land Zone with Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Houston Parks Board exploring interactive activities that teach everyone the importance of taking care of the Earth every day. The Land Zone will provide activities that attract visitors to learn and apply the 4R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respect the Earth. Activities include Earth Day games, learning about composting, wildflower programs, and linear forest education, topped off with plant giveaways and Earth Day incentives. Before moving on, be sure to take a trip through the Apache Corporation Tree Maze!
WATER ZONE
Produced by Bayou Preservation Association, the Houston Public Media Water Zone is an experience of why water matters and why we need to keep our waterways clean to preserve and enjoy our local bayous. Learn how to build a rain barrel and how easy it is to collect rain water and use it in our gardens, plus composting tea in your rain barrel. Native Plant Society representatives will explain the threat of the invasive exotic plants to the bayous. Plus, kids will run the rain gauge race, play with the watersheds puzzle, and take a ride on the lake in a canoe.
SUSTAINABILITY ZONE
Blackwood Educational Land Institute sponsors the University of Houston Renewable Energy Zone at Earth Day Houston 2013. Through fun activities, they will highlight renewable energy resources such as solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass. Travel through the exhibit and be inspired by riding a light-cycle, visit with local honey bees and check out the cutting edge research of the University of Houston Energy Center such as their sustainable solar-powered vehicle.
WILDLIFE HABITAT ZONE
A trip to Earth Day Houston isn’t complete without a stop at our Wildlife and Habitat Zone where kids can interact with local flora and fauna and learn more about the world around them. Children will be able to pet real live snakes from our partners at Texas Snakes and More. They can also visit booths with the Texas Wildlife Association, Houston SPCA and TWRC Wildlife Center to get hands on with more of our local wild friends from the Houston region.
HEALTHY LIVING ZONE
The Healthy Living zone shows how we can take care of our own bodies while also taking care of our planet, and primarily focuses on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death in the US. The Wellness and Prevention Program at the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center and the Texas Arrhythmia Institute want to educate the community on what they can do to avoid heart and vascular diseases through: screening tests, lifestyle changes, medications, community awareness and education, training on how to perform CPR and use AEDs. Recipe for Success will also be hosting an exciting hands-on booth for children and adults alike. Come visit the RFS booth to play four carnival-style games, win some fun prizes, and get a taste of some healthy, delicious recipes we make at our elementary schools. While you’re having fun playing games, you’ll also be learning about how to help the environment, what foods are good for you, and how herbs from the garden make our food taste great.
HEB KIDS ZONE
HEB will be offering every visitor to the Kids’ Zone a reusable shopping bag for every five plastic single use bags that are brought in and then kids can visit educational areas sponsored by The Houston Children’s Museum or participate in fun activities with Clif Bar Kids.
STAGE
Kids will enjoy the Health Corps Stage providing family focused entertainment. Discovery Greens’ popular water feature and play-scape are also available to energize kids of all ages.
