Get Out! (Outside)
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Getting out in nature is fun, educational and a source of healing and calm
The Earth Day planning committee and the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition digitally teamed up for Earth Day/Week/Month in 2020, the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day to promote community-wide education and collective action around our climate and ecological realities. Below we share links to digital content and contact information. We hope you enjoy!
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2020 EVENTS
Nature Now
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Month of April (Daily Group Post)
Primary Contact: Donovan Tesin
A place to share your experiences with staying connected to nature during this sheltered time. This page will be a place where KNC staff will share activities, thoughts, images, learnings, visits from our animals, and the unfolding of spring from our view. Stay engaged with the outdoors. This is a gift for you, from KNC.
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Nature in the City: Celebrating 50 Years of Earth Day at Bow in the Clouds Preserve
Primary Host: Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
Timing: Saturday, April 25 at 7pm
Primary Contact: Hilary Hunt
Join Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy, your local land conservancy, for a live premiere of this short video celebration of Earth Day. The video includes a naturalist-guided virtual hike of Bow in the Clouds Preserve, an action-taking opportunity to protect habitat in your community, and a profound celebration of the diverse wildlife and people who make Bow in the Clouds our city’s nature escape.
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Nature Challenge
Primary Host: Kellogg Biological Station
Timing: Month of April (Daily Group Post)
Primary Contact: Kara Haas
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Advocacy & Awareness
Earth Month Calendar Challenge
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Timing: Month of April (Daily Group Post)
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
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Carbon Criminals, Climate Crimes
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
Video about the legal accountability for state-corporate carbon criminals examined by Dr. Ron Kramer, WMU Professor of Sociology and founding member of CCWG
Elevate the Youth Voice
a. Kalamazoo Central High Students
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
Video of Chloe Carlson and Vanessa Fernandez from the September 20, Kalamazoo Climate Strike.
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b. Heronwood Student Stories, Kalamazoo Nature Center
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Friday, April 24 12:30 pm
Primary Contact: Jenny Doezema
Have you ever heard a great story that captivated you? A strong narrative can be powerful. Stories can effect change, bring people together and build community. Students in the Heronwood Field Station Conservation Biology created a personal narrative about a moment that they have experienced in nature. They shared their stories in front of a live audience at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. Through this process students have gained skills that will help them foster community relationships, express their values, and most importantly, share their voice. Tune in to KNC “Nature now” to hear their stories.
Unbroken Ground
Primary Host: Kellogg Biological Station
Date: Friday, April 24, 2:30-4:00 pm.
Primary Contact: Lindsey Kemmerling
We will be hosting a showing of the documentary Unbroken Ground | A New Old Way to Grow Food, a 25-minute film about transformative agriculture. The documentary will be followed by a discussion about transformative change in agriculture and across sectors. The discussion will be an open space for sharing ideas with facilitated questions. This event will occur as a Zoom meeting, and is aimed at young activists and others interested in engaging with their peers around this topic."
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History of Earth Day
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival, Facebook
Primary Contact: Allen Webb
Two-part video series by Dr. David Benac, WMU Associate Professor of History
1. Earth Day: What is was and why it matters
2. First Earth Day: April 22, 1970
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A Day With Less Plastic
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Amelia Stefanac
Would you like to see less single-use plastic pollution in Michigan? Your voice matters - take action!
1. Send an automated letter in support of HB 4500, which would allow MI cities to ban plastic bags.
2. Sign the petition focused on reducing single-use plastic pollution, (including expanding our bottle redemption program)
3. For more actions, such as recording a brief video or a home school lesson on plastic pollution, visit bit.ly/MIPlasticProblem.
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350.org Kalamazoo (KCCC Affiliate Spotlight)
Primary Host: 350 Kalamazoo
Primary Contact: Kate Miller
Stop oil - vote with your $, Idle Free Movement, Homelessness. View this presentation by 350 Kalamazoo, which sheds light on the connections between oil, fuel and equity with many ways to take action and get involved.
Kalamazoo Non-Violent Opponents of War, Join Us! (KCCC Affiliate Spotlight)
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contact: Denise Keele, newsfromknow@gmail.com
FB Main: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocrisis/
Kalamazoo Nonviolent Opponents of War (KNOW) is an all-volunteer group of ordinary folks from all walks of life, who believe that our country can do better than expend our precious resources of life and treasure in seemingly endless wars. Watch this video to learn more and join us!
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Introduction to Citizens’ Climate Lobby (KCCC Affiliate Spotlight)
Primary Host: KCCC/Citizens’ Climate Lobby Kalamazoo Chapter
Primary Contact: Denise Keele, Tim Tesar
Learn how Citizens' Climate Lobby engages in the political process, working to put a price on carbon pollution, the best first step to solving the climate crisis. View the recorded Zoom meeting from April 18: "Introduction to Citizens' Climate Lobby".
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Animal Ambassadors!
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Saturday, April 25th, 3:00pm
Primary Contact: Jenny Doezema
Our animals represent the relationship between animals and humans. We may not cross paths in the wild but our impact on their survival is great. Engage with our ambassadors for nature. Join us for a live show with one of our animal ambassadors.
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Politics
Messages from Elected Officials: Reflections on Earth Day and the Climate Crisis
Primary Host: Kzoo Environ Council, Kalamazoo Nature Center and WMU Institute of the Environment & Sustainability
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
Video reflections on Earth Day and the Climate Crisis from Michigan state and federal elected officials, including:
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI): watch video message here
Senator Gary Peters (D-MI): watch video message here
State Senator Sean McCann (D-20): watch video message here
State Representative Jon Hoadley (D-60): watch video message here
​We worked closely with Representative Fred Upton (R-MI-6), but unfortunately he was not able to record a video due to his time commitments related to managing the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Please take a moment to thank them for creating this special Kalamazoo Earth Week message and for all the work they do to protect the environment.
Links available April 22
Kalamazoo County Climate Collaborative
Primary Host: Michigan State University, Extension
Timing: Tuesday, April 21st at 1:00 pm.
Primary Contact: Tyler Augst at augsttyl@msu.edu or 269-657-8213.
Registration for Kalamazoo County Climate Collaborative-Earth Week Meeting is open and closes at 11:59 p.m. on April 17, 2020:
Local decision makers are invited for a presentation from Emily Leach, Chair of the Marquette Climate Action Task Force, and Brad Neumann, Senior MSU Extension Educator, about the process of developing the Marquette Area Climate and Health Adaptation Guidebook, a series of three volumes that documents community concerns and priorities, policy and metric recommendations, and guidance for implementation related to climate change.
Climate Crisis Town Hall
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition, WMU Institute of the Environment & Sustainability
Timing: April 22
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
FB Main: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocrisis/
Discussion of climate emergency declarations, climate change impacts and responses with representatives from Kalamazoo Area Governmental Units, including:
Kalamazoo County Commissioner and Board Chair, Julie Rogers
City of Kalamazoo, Mayor David Anderson
Kalamazoo Township, Board Trustee Nicolette Leigh
Oshtemo Township, Supervisor Libby Heiny-Cogswell
City of Portage, Mayor Patricia Randall
Please take a moment to thank them for joining the panel for this Kalamazoo Earth Week event and for all the work they do to address climate change.
Uniting from Home: A virtual Citizens’ Climate Lobby event with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
Primary Host: Citizens’ Climate Lobby/KCCC
Primary Contact: Tim Tesar
These four videos show how Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
1: "Healthy People, Healthy Planet" - Climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe connects the dots between our health and the health of our planet, and explains how burning fossil fuels and climate change threaten them both.
2: Climate Advocate Training - This training gives you all the tools you need to be an effective climate advocate and provides a strong overview of Citizens' Climate Lobby.
3: CCL Volunteer Spotlight Panel - A panel of CCL volunteers describes what brought them to climate action and how they communicate the need for action to their communities across the country.
4: Climate Organizing During the Pandemic - CCL staff covers working with Congress, the best messaging about climate, ways to be active from home, and how students can continue their climate work off-campus.
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KCDP on Earth Day
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Margy Belchak
The KCDP Chair's video for Earth Day 2020.
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Individual Choices Making a Difference
& Things YOU can do!
Tour a Net-Zero Home
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contacts: Denise Keele, Bart Litjens
FB Main: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocrisis/
Wondering how to go carbon neutral with your home? Watch this inspiring, award-winning video from a homeowner who transformed a regular ranch style home into a net-zero home in Portage.
Food, You and the Environment: Vegan 101
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contacts: Denise Keele, Hillary Rettig
FB Main: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocrisis/
Video: Impacts of Animal Agriculture (w/connection to pandemic)​
A “Mindful Eating” Approach to Climate Change
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
FB Main: https://www.facebook.com/kalamazoocrisis/
Contact: Nancy Lee Bentley
What we EAT and DO, our food and lifestyle choices, impact both our personal and planetary health. It’s All Connected and So Are We. Receive a downloadable checklist with a baker’s dozen “Good for Us and the Planet” Mindful Eating hacks each of us can adopt, even in these stressful times. We can feel better, calm and nourish ourselves, reduce inflammation, boost our immunity, improve our physical, mental, emotional AND our environmental health all at the same time! Presented by Food & Wholistic Health Expert, Nancy Lee Bentley.
Science while Sheltering
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Sunday April 21, 3:00 pm
Primary Contact: Jenny Doezema
Citizen science is the collection and analysis of scientific data by the general public (You!) in collaboration with professional research projects. You can help answer questions about the natural world by participating in a variety of different citizen science projects in a local natural area or in your own backyard. There are projects for all ages and abilities and most projects require little to no previous training or knowledge. Let us help you explore the outdoors while contributing to valuable scientific research! Join KNC educators during Earth Week for a short video on how to be a citizen scientist!
“Eat Up” Digital Film Screening
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Monday, April 20, 5:30-7:30pm
Primary Contact: Jenny Doezema
KNC is partnering with HealthyFoods In Schools to bring you this thought-provoking film. Filmed over 12 months inside Boston Public Schools cafeterias and kitchens, “Eat Up” tells a story of power, food, and the future of children. It ripples from Boston to cafeterias across the nation, offering a model for healthy eating and how to navigate the politics of our most difficult terrain: public schools. Film Trailer.
THIS WILL BE A LIVE SHOWING People will be able to tune in, watch and discuss. They have to join at a specific time to be part of this event.
Garden Starter Tutorials
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Thursday, April 23
Primary Contact: Jenny Doezema
Have you always wanted to start a garden, but don’t know where to begin? Are you eager to learn how to grow food in your own yard? Join the Kalamazoo Nature Center’s Farm Director for a virtual lesson in how to start a garden without a rototiller or digging up sod! Using common materials, we will build a no-till garden and transplant some early season crops. We will also provide links for a few simple garden designs and a planting calendar.
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Welcome home to the garden
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Nature Center
Timing: Month of April
Primary Contact: Bri Fonnville
Every Sunday, Bri Fonville invites us into the Woodward garden, her kitchen, her backyard and other outdoor spaces in her neighborhood to some share some of the fun food and garden activities from the Fair Food Matters Program, revamped for online and at-home learning. Tune in during Earth week for some climate-themed content!
Eco-Arts
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Westminster Art Festival: "Sacred Places, Wild Spaces"
Primary contact: Westminster Presbyterian Church
Show postponed; poetry submissions open.
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**Online arts possibilities being explored by Hasbrook
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Allen Webb
Birds: Natural Art, Threatened by the Climate Crisis
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition
Primary Contact: Denise Keele
This online exhibit of bird photographs by Tim Tesar features some beautiful animals whose lives will be significantly impacted by a warming world."
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We are the Earth. We are the Problem. We are the Solution.
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Maryellen Hains
Kalamazoo College Library Exhibition Artist Reception and Poetry Reading
Keeping the Faith: Hope, Health & Resilience
Climate and Earth-themed Daily Inspirations
Primary Host: Hope For Creation SWMI
Timing: Month of April (Daily Group Post)
Primary Contact: Hope for Creation
Daily Facebook posts
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Weeping at the Water: A Gathering for Lament & Commitment
Primary Host: Hope For Creation SWMI​
Timing: Sunday, April 19
Primary Contact: Hope for Creation​
Hope for Creation is glad to offer this opportunity for community members to name our grief for the planet, acknowledge the precarious balance of despair and hope in our lives, and offer commitments to practices and actions to care for creation. Before the pandemic, we planned to gather as a community for this service on the banks of the Kalamazoo River, in acknowledgement of oil spills, PFAs, PBB, and other contamination of our water. In our work protecting and caring for creation amidst a global pandemic, we need space to share grief and find strength together. All are welcome as Hope for Creation hosts a service using interfaith resources, poetry, and simple ritual to:
- name our individual and collective grief for the planet,
- acknowledge the precarious balance of despair and hope in our lives
- offer commitments to practices and actions to care for creation
Ayurveda: Nature’s Medicine
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Ruth Small
Two-part video series (live webinar via Zoom) by Ruth Small and Bill Courson, Ayurvedic Practitioner (NJ)
The two webinars in this series are closely intertwined, such that, unless you have background in Ayurveda, it’s best to attend both sessions. You may, of course, join one or the other according to your availability. If you wish to receive more information about Ayurveda, please send an email message.
1. Zoom April 22, 1:30-3:00 pm, What is Ayurveda?
Ayurveda means "The Science of Life" or “The Science of Longevity”. Ayurveda is an ancient Indian way of knowledge whose aim is to augment and enhance life by living in accordance with the cycles of Nature. Today, Ayurveda's history, scope, basic theory and methods will be discussed. What you learn today will serve as a basis for understanding Bill’s presentation tomorrow on pathology and disease prevention.
2. Zoom April 23, 1:30-3:00 pm, Maintaining Health & Balance with Ayurveda
This will be a discussion of how Ayurveda uses its therapeutic strategies to address the individual who is out of balance with nature ("diseased') and how those imbalances may be prevented.
For instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting, see: Joining a Zoom Meeting​
Restoring Community with Native Plants & Ancient Wisdom
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Tom Small
Three-part video series by Dr. Tom Small. Although the three Zoom webinars are closely intertwined, each one is complete in itself. You may take one, two, or all three.
In order to receive advance materials and an invitation, please register in advance via email.
1. Zoom Saturday, April 25, 10:30-noon, Restoring the Land and All Our Relations
How can landscaping with native plants help sustain and restore pollinators, other essential insects, birds, and other wildlife? What can you do on your property, no matter the size, to preserve the future of life on earth?
2. Zoom Saturday, May 9, 10:30-noon, Soil, Soul, Society: Crisis and Renewal
Life begins from the soil, which is in crisis—a crisis also of the spirit and our entire modern culture. How can each of us help to restore the health of the soil, our food, and the endangered community of life, including ourselves?
3. Zoom Saturday, May 23, 10:30-noon, Native Plants & Native Americans: Models for Restoration
If we truly heed what both modern science and ancient, indigenous wisdom tell us about plant intelligence and sentience, how might that change our relationships with the rest of the natural world, including our food?
For the young and young at heart
Earth Day Coloring Book
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Allen Webb
Download a printable pdf version of the coloring book.
Video about the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day zine/book.
Kid’s Corner (Earth Day Child Activities)
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Allen Webb
Delivering Earth Day package with family activities, packets of seeds, and Earth Day coloring book. Download documents from the package
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Make your own rain gauge, with instructions from the Kalamazoo Valley Museum
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Online Earth Day activities for kids
Primary Host: Kalamazoo Earth Day Festival
Primary Contact: Allen Webb
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