Tahoe Truckee Earth Day

Earth Day began in 1970 as a way to bring awareness to the environment, and especially air and water pollution. It is always celebrated on April 22nd each year. Many people did not know much about environmental science at that time, and people who did were considered a bit on the strange side. Fast forward more than forty years and environmental science and being green are the wave of the future. It’s actually trendy to show concern! Many people try to live sustainable lives, leave a low carbon footprint on the land, buy local by joining a Farm CSA, or support clean energy sources for their homes. It’s just the right thing to do for our planet.

2024 Earth Day Events in Truckee & Tahoe:

• Tahoe Truckee Earth Day - Saturday, April 20, 2024 at the Village at Palisades Tahoe from 11:00am - 5:00pm. This is a volunteer run, non-profit event to recognize, celebrate and promote the region’s unique beauty. They have a great website with all the event details at: http://tahoetruckeeearthday.com

• South Tahoe Earth Day - Saturday, April 27, 2024 at Lake Tahoe Community College in South Lake Tahoe, California from 10am - 3pm. For all the details: http://southtahoeearthday.org




• Reno Earth Day - Sunday, April 20, 2024 from 11:00am to 6:00pm at Idlewild Park in Reno NV.  

You can find more detail about these events, on the Truckee Travel Guide Event Calendar!

Teach YOUR Kids about Earth Day

The Tahoe Truckee Earth Day is a very kid friendly event! There are lots of demonstrations and activities for kids - some great hands on things for the kids to do. In 2012, there was the Dr. Wilderness Show which is a fun and magical performance that captivates children with its music and dancing, stage tricks, mystery and electronic puppetry.

Children's Events for 2018 include the Discovery Zone!

2024 Earth Day Music:

Of course with most events in the Truckee and Tahoe area, there will be music involved 

• Main Stage in the Event Plaza at the Village at Squaw Valley. 

Pet Friendly Event

As with many events at the Village at Squaw Valley, this event is a very pet friendly event! It seemed like everywhere you looked in the crowd, you saw Dogs, Dogs, and more Dogs!! (See my Truckee Dog Information page!)

Trashion Show

Oh My Goodness! The "Trashion Show" put on by the Truckee High School Envirolution Club, and produced by Sierra Watershed Education Partnerships was just pure fun, and very educational! Students modeled outfits made out of "various materials". As they were modeled, music was played, and each outfit was described with the types of materials used, how they can be reduced, recycled, or eliminated, and the environmental impacts they cause. One of my favorites was the outfits made with "bike tires" - very creative!

Don't miss the 2024 Trashion Show at the Main Stage in the Events Plaza at the Village at Squaw Valley! (Time TBA)

Earth Day Vendors:

I'm always impressed with the number of vendors at this event, and the great displays and information that they had to share. Many of the great Truckee Non Profit Organizations and the Lake Tahoe Non Profit Organizations were out in force. There are too many to cover here, but I'll highlight a few on a separate Earth Day Tips page, and share some of the messages they had on how YOU can help sustain the gorgeous beauty of the Truckee and Lake Tahoe area!

Support Earth Day with YOUR Eating Habits

The following was written by my sister Kerry Bacon, of Healthy Diet Habits who is helping me with the food information on this site! Check out her Healthy Diet Habits website for tons of Healthy Eating tips!

Some simple ways that you can do your part to support Earth Day with your eating habits for the coming year are:

• Practice Healthy Grocery Shopping: Shop with a healthy grocery list and purchase real foods and limit processed foods, genetically modified foods, and food additives. If a food label contains ingredients you can’t pronounce, avoid buying it. Over 40 % of purchased food is wasted, so shop wisely. In many cultures people shop daily and only buy what they need. I love this. Practice meal planning and only purchase foods you have on your list, rather than shopping the aisles of various markets! You will save time, money, and avoid waste.
• Practice Portion Control: Two thirds of our country is overweight, or obese and experience health problems. Too many calories and fast food are eaten. Limit your food intake by using meal plan strategies. Decrease your consumption of meat, which takes more energy to produce than fruits and vegetables. Most cultures do not make meat the centerpiece of the meal, but use it as a flavoring. Consider joining the Meatless Monday regime where you do not eat meat on Mondays. There are so many delicious meat free meals.
• Use all leftovers to avoid waste. There are several ways to do this. Eat the same meal twice, take lunch leftovers, or repurpose the meal into another meal that does not resemble the first meal. This is so simple to do, but takes a bit of planning. If you plan a roast one day, you can make a stew in the next few days from the leftovers. There are many ideas for repurposing leftovers. Consider making a pot of healthy soup each week that can use all of the leftover vegetables that you might be tempted to throw out before shopping. Some of my most amazing soups have been made from my weekly refrigerator clean out. Make it your goal to throw away no food and see if you can accomplish this. You will be amazed at the money that you will save. A huge pot of soup will also yield lunches for most of the week as an added benefit.
• Take up the lost art of Canning and Freezing. Start a vegetable garden, join a local CSA, or visit your local farmer’s market to purchase the freshest produce. Can and freeze for the coming year. This might mean you need to purchase canning jars, a canning water bath, pressure cooker, or a freezer, but those are one time purchases. My mom freezes much of her vegetables for the year, and they are nicely stacked and labeled in her freezer.
• Consider joining a local farm CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), or at least shop from your local farmer’s market. You can purchase local, freshly picked produce that has not been transported half way around the globe. Food tastes and smells so much better fresh picked. Know which foods are heavily treated with pesticides, and purchase organic choices as much as you can. Organics have come down in price in the last few years and there are often sales. A savvy frugal shopper who does not waste 40% of his/her food purchases can afford organics!

Mountain Bounty Farm, out of Nevada City, services the Truckee and Tahoe area - they offer weekly boxes of Veggie Share, Fruit Share, or Flower Share. http://www.mountainbountyfarm.com

• Recycle in any way that you can, and avoid using the dump. Many communities have huge recycle programs. Recycle all of your papers, cans, plastics, newspapers, and magazines. Don’t be lazy. Compost your food scraps, if you have a place to do so, or get into the art of red wiggler worms! These are all simple to do and will save landfills. Don’t buy single packaged goods, but buy the largest containers possible to generate less trash. Get creative.

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Life is to be lived to the fullest, but not in excess. Many of you live in excess; excess weight, excess stuff, and excess bills, from overeating and overbuying, which leads to overproducing in the world. Please protect the earth this year by living prudently, and helping others when you can.

Take time to check out the Truckee Non-Profit Organizations and the Lake Tahoe Non Profit Organizations! - I've started a list of them that I will be adding to as I find new ones. I have links to their websites, and have stated their Mission Statements. Check them out, and learn more about how YOU can help the Earth, the animals, and others!

Holidays and Observances Website

I've had so much fun working on the Holidays in Truckee pages with my sister, Kerry that we started another website devoted solely to Holidays! Check us out: Website Facebook Pinterest Twitter