All of April to be Earth Day Savannah 2021

The Savannah-Chatham Sustainability Coalition has established Earth Day as a monthlong celebration this year.

The new tradition to will be titled: “Earth Day Savannah Month.”

Joanne Morton, executive director and creative expression strategist with the Earth Day Savannah Team, said this year, since there wasn’t going to be an Earth Day festival, the team put together a calendar of events supporting Earth Day celebrations.

“We came up with idea of doing a monthlong calendar and all the nonprofits were ecstatic about it,” Morton said. “We have over 22 nonprofits offering events in the month of April, and most of them are free.”

Morton said she got to know representatives of so many nonprofit organizations in the area through running the festival that she knew something could still happen that people would be excited about.

“We can’t just ignore all the environmental work that’s being done in the area and also the importance of education,” Morton said.

This will be a sustainable and safe way for businesses and environmental nonprofits to connect with the public and strengthen the environmental network in the Savannah community.

This monthlong celebration will feature a collective of virtual and small, in-person events, including weekly Savannah Tree Foundation tree walks; Ogeechee Audubon Society bird watching in Forsyth Park; and the Forsyth Farmers Market’s Community Spotlight, focusing on Earth Day with ​Caretta Research Project, Free Little Seed Library and Evergreen Explorers.

“We’re going to be taking and showcasing all of what the nonprofits are doing on one platform,” Morton said.

Events will be happening throughout Chatham County in this month, including a North Beach Clean-up by Tybee Clean Beach Volunteers; the Children’s Museum’s “Mobile Garden” will be in Garden City and on the east side of Savannah; and the ​University of Georgia Marine Education Center on Skidaway Island will be hosting free and paid events all month long.

“We are giving all of the nonprofits an opportunity to share with the community what they actually do,” Morton said.

Also a Savannah Artist, Morton’s Community Engagement Project, the ​Manifesting Mobile,​ held pop-up events April 1 and April 6 at Center Parc Credit Unions at WalMart in Pooler and on Hwy 17.

Morton is partnering with Hello Neighbor and HART Initiative for community pop-ups on Sundays in April. More events are scheduled.

“Our goal is to empower people to get involved,” Morton said.

“Partnering with the nonprofits, I am able to give action to the community so that we can collaborate because it’s a lot more fun when we work together and easier. And, there is a lot of work to be done.”

Information about all of these events can be found at earthdaysavannah.org.​

100% Savannah is an ambitious initiative to transition to safe, clean, renewable energy to increase economic opportunity, improve community health and well-being, and protect our natural environment. Visit savannahga.gov/CleanEnergy for information.

Also, take the Community Survey here: surveymonkey.com/r/Residentwide