ST. LOUIS — With extreme weather events hitting Missouri and much of the country in recent months, climate change has become an increasingly urgent topic. But this Earth Day, St. Louisans are focusing on solutions and showing how local action can create global impact.
Thousands of people are attending the St. Louis Earth Day Festival in Forest Park, which has become one of the largest and oldest Earth Day celebrations in the Midwest and among the biggest in the country.
Hosted by the nonprofit Earthday365, the festival features more than 200 local vendors, sustainability workshops, and green living exhibits. Organizers say the goal is to give people hands-on ways to live more sustainably in their daily lives, from fashion and food, to energy use and waste reduction.
“We really have a mission of making St. Louis more sustainable and equitable,” said Dr. Jess Watson, Executive Director of earthday365. “This event really brings together everybody in the sustainability movement to push things forward.”
This year’s theme is “climate hope”.. a message organizers say is critical in a time when headlines are filled with climate-related disasters.
“We can all see how the weather has gone incredibly erratic,” Watson said. “Just in our region in the Midwest, the Meramec has flooded almost every year at historic levels. It’s really affecting our region dramatically right now. The time is now for us to do everything we can to try to remediate.”
The festival also draws attention to lesser-known contributors to climate change, like fast fashion.
In addition to eco-education and live performances, five sustainability awards were handed out this year to recognize grassroots efforts already making a difference in the St. Louis community. Mayor Cara Spencer was also in attendance to speak on her sustainability initiatives for the city during her term.
The St. Louis Earth Day Festival is free to attend and continues through the weekend in Forest Park.