Celebrate Earth Day in Tahoe—and kick off a week of festivities—with Mother Nature Monday

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe’s Earth Week begins with Mother Nature Monday on April 22, Earth Day itself! Spring is in the air, green grass is poking out, and the animals are migrating back to Lake Tahoe after their winter away. What better way to appreciate Lake Tahoe than by appreciating Mother Nature this Earth Week? Here are a few ways to show your love.

Join a Community Litter Cleanup with the League to Save Lake Tahoe – Your help is needed to overcome one of the Lake’s most pressing challenges. It's the battle of Tahoe vs. Plastics. Pitch in on the cleanup effort to get plastic litter out of our environment and Keep Tahoe Blue! The event takes place where South Lake Tahoe meets Stateline from 8:00 a.m. to noon on Monday, April 22. Visit keeptahoeblue.org/earthday to register, learn where to meet and what to bring, and get a glimpse of what’s in store for the morning.

Be Dazzled by the Wild and Scenic Film Festival – Hosted by the Sierra Nevada Alliance, the festival combines award-winning environmental and adventure films with the energy of local activism. Each year, films are chosen to inspire viewers to take further action regarding issues impacting our environment, ourselves and the world. The best of this year’s films will be shown at Valhalla Tahoe on April 22 with doors opening at 7:00 p.m. Purchase tickets at sierranevadaalliance.org/wsff.

No More Single-Use Plastic Water Bottles in South Lake Tahoe – Litter cleanup efforts regularly turn up lots and lots of single-use plastic bottles. To prevent pollution before it starts, the City of South Lake Tahoe passed a ban on single-use plastic water bottles under one gallon. Beginning on Earth Day, April 22, you will no longer be able to get single-use plastic bottles of water at restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses throughout the City. Do your part in the battle of Tahoe vs. Plastics by switching to a reusable bottle.

Refuse, Reduce, Reuse – Sadly, much of what we "recycle" doesn't actually find a second life. To stop pollution, Refuse, Reduce, and Reuse instead. Say no to single-use items, especially plastics, and choose reusable items like bottles, utensils, and shopping bags in their place.

End your Earth Week fun by joining us at the South Tahoe Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Lake Tahoe Community College. Learn more at southtahoeearthday.org.

Thank you to the South Tahoe Earth Day Festival Sponsors: Lake Tahoe Community College South Tahoe Public Utility District, South Tahoe Refuse, Pay It Forward Project, Edgewood Companies, Heavenly Mountain Resort, Tahoe Water Suppliers Association, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, and Liberty Utilities.

The Tahoe Earth Day Foundation, a non-profit organization, was formed to educate the general public regarding the Lake Tahoe and Truckee region’s unique beauty and how to preserve and protect it. The means of providing such education include but are not limited to, regional Earth Day festivals that include environmental and educational booths with focus areas on watershed health, forest health, water conservation, pollution prevention, alternative energy and waste management.