Here’s where to work and play on Earth Day

Residents can celebrate Earth Day this year with food, festivities and environmentally friendly activities.

The first Earth Day was proclaimed on April 22, 1970, and it has since become a global holiday when millions of people focus on the environment and enact positive changes concerning pollution, waste and energy consumption.

Some of the events taking place locally include:

Earth Day Pensacola

Earth Day Pensacola is an annual event in which Northwest Florida residents gather to celebrate the Earth in a family friendly atmosphere. There will be live music, a sustainable art show, food vendors, an expanded children’s area and information booths on how community members can live more sustainably.

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Ashleigh Moore attaches her Earth Day wish Saturday during Earth Day Pensacola at Bayview Park.

The theme for Earth Day 2017 is Energy, Transportation, and Sustainability. There will be vendors supporting the theme with information on share riding, public transportation, hybrid vehicles, wind energy, solar energy and more. There will also be a designated kids’ activity area, food, music, dancing and yoga.

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The Natural Resources Committee of the League of Women Voters of the Pensacola Bay Area will also give away 200 reusable shopping bags at the event.

The event will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Bayview Park, 2001 E. Lloyd St. in Pensacola.

Great American Cleanup

The Santa Rosa Clean Community System Inc., in association with Keep America Beautiful Affiliates and volunteers, will hold a county-wide cleanup on Saturday in Santa Rosa County.

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Volunteer diver Kuris Freeland brings in a load of monofilament fishing line and other debris to the beach after recovering the items from around the Fort Pickens fishing pier Wednesday afternoon. A group of 10 volunteer divers spent Earth Day cleanup up discarded line and other items from around the national park pier.

From beaches in the south to farm lands and forests in the north, community volunteers will work to keep the county beautiful. Residents are encouraged to clean any public area of the county — roads, parks, boat landings, etc. — or any area that is an eyesore.

Dumpsters donated by Waste Pro will be provided at four locations: Green Up Santa Rosa Nursery, 6758 Park Ave. in Milton; the Oyster Pile Boat Ramp, 4566 Water St. in Bagdad; Blackwater Baptist Church, 11689 Munson Highway in Munson; and on a private lot at 11601 Bliss Way in Floridale.

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Residents can pick up supplies (trash bags, bottled water and safety vests) at the Green Up Nursery this week or at the Dumpster locations on Saturday.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Open House

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf Ecology Division will host a public open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Gulf Ecology Division research facility at 1 Sabine Island Drive on Pensacola Beach.

The event will showcase the history of Sabine Island and include exhibits, displays and posters highlighting environmental research and local animal species.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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Kids check out sea life Saturday during Earth Day Pensacola at Bayview Park.

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O.J. Semmes Elementary School students Willie B. Floyd, left, and Tydavious Lewis, right, help in planting a fruit tree on the school’s campus while Earth Day from volunteer Tom Torchia, center, offers them a few tips Tuesday

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