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Thursday, April 22
Food Is Life
The National Museum of the Native America in Washington, DC, screens The Living Earth Virtual Festival, a film series featuring stories from Native communities that “raise awareness and educate future generations about the importance of food sovereignty and sustainability” beginning April 22 at 10:01am (and available on demand until April 25). You can view the feature films Gather (an intimate portrait of the growing movement of Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty) and Voices of the Barrens: Native Peoples, Blueberries and Sovereignty (a documentary about the wild blueberry harvest of the Wabanaki people in the U.S. and Canada). There’s also a collection of “Living Earth Shorts,” which addresses “issues facing food sovereignty and sustainability in Native communities.” In addition to the film screenings, there will be online cooking demonstrations, a conference on “Sustainable Agriculture” and a panel discussion on “Building an Agriculture Business in Indian Country.” To watch on demand for free, go to nmai.brand.live/c/livingearthfestival. (Devin D. O’Leary)
Thursday, April 22
Planting the SEEDSS
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center hosts the second of its “Agricultural and Traditional Foods” webinars on April 22. Starting at 9am the Pueblo SEEDSS Webinar #2 Earth Day Conference opens up to pueblo and Native American gardeners, farmers and anyone seeking to learn more about traditional ecological knowledge through “Indigenous perspectives on soil, seeds and pollinators.” Topics of conference presentations include: “No-Till Soil—Navajo Ethno Agriculture,” “Seed Viability Demonstration,” “Our Symbiotic Relationship with our Pollinators” and “The SEEDSS Seed Distribution Project.” SEEDSS stands for Sewing Ecological Education for Delivering Sustainable Stewardship. Admission to the conference is free, and all presentations take place online. To register, go to indianpueblo.org. (Devin D. O’Leary)
Thursday, April 22
Environment and Peace
Taos Environmental Film Festival offers a free virtual lineup of Earth Day events from April 22 to April 25. This online celebration includes film screenings, lectures, presentations and more. It kicks off on April 22 with TEFF and SOMOS teaming up for an Earth Day and Global Peace poetry event from 7:30 to 8:45pm. Taos Poet Laureate Catherine Strisik and Santa Fe Poet Laureate Elizabeth Jacobson headline the event. James Nave serves as emcee, and Omar Rane provides musical interludes. To get the Zoom link, go to taosenvironmentalfilmfestival.com/somos/. That’s followed by Earth, Wind, Fire Water and Spirit Conference of Environment and Peace. It’s billed as a three-day opportunity to listen and engage with a wide variety of scholars, activists, organizers and world leaders who are passionately dedicated to alerting the world to the dangers inherent in a climate in crisis. To check out all of Taos Envionmental Film Festival’s Earth Day events, go to taosenvironmentalfilmfestival.com. (Devin D. O’Leary)
Friday, April 23
Go Green
What better way to ease into Earth Day than with a Spring Plant Sale & Garden Fair at the Albuquerque Garden Center (10120 Lomas Blvd. NE)? On April 23 from 1 to 6pm, home gardeners can purchase a selection of annuals, perennials, native plants, vegetables, hanging plants, houseplants, trees, shrubs and ground covers grown by members of the ABQ Aris and Iris Society, the NM Dahlia Society, the Petal Pushers Garden Club, the Garden Center and the Xeric Garden Club. Admission is free, plants are individually priced. (Devin D. O’Leary)
Saturday, April 24
Clean Sweep
The Village of Tijeras hosts an Earth Day Clean-Up on April 24. Starting at 9am, volunteers are encouraged to gather at the Tijeras City Hall (12 Camino Municipal in Tijeras) to pick up trash bags and gloves. Find a place in the Village that you’d like to clean up, take pictures to share on social media, and bring your full trash bags back to City Hall between noon and 1pm for a free T-shirt! Families are particularly encouraged to participate in this free community service event. (Devin D. O’Leary)
Saturday, April 24
Party for the Planet
La Montanita Co-Op Food Market in Nob Hill celebrates Earth Day with EarthFest 2021. This annual, ecology-minded festival takes place online instead of in-person this year. (Because … gestures at everything.) Organizers have lined up a range of speakers with an environmental focus. On April 24 from 10am to 1pm, you can watch Zoom presentations and Q&A sessions with environmentally focused nonprofits as well as local artists and craftspeople incorporating environmental themes into their materials or work. Among the presenters lined up are Bernalillo County Master Composters, The Sprouting Kitchen, The Yerba Mansa Project, Chispas Farm and Positive Energy Solar. To register in advance and get the free Zoom link, go to lamontanita.coop/earthfest. (Devin D. O’Leary)