MISSOULA - Earth Day only comes around once a year, but every day there is an opportunity to impact the planet positively or negatively.
Missoulians will have a lot of opportunities to celebrate Earth Day and learn about sustainable living on Saturday, April 22.
The organization's planning events will hope to instill an earth-friendly mindset in community members– a mindset that will last all year long.
For 46 years the International Wildlife Film Festival has come to Missoula, along with a parade honoring Montana's wild animals.
The festival is working in partnership with Wild Montana, a community organization that aims to support moves toward conservation.
For ex-president and long-time Wild Montana member Lee Boman, the festival is a way to remind Missoulians to appreciate the state's open spaces.
“The films have always inspired people to get out, enjoy wild places and help people realize the value of wildlife and the huge role Wildlife has in Montana," Boman says.
The Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (M.U.D) is also hosting a large event with over 20 different organizations.
M.U.D. executive director Casey Valencia says it is an opportunity to share tips and tricks on sustainable living.
“For us, a lot of it is about celebrating, but also connecting people to resources so they can learn about composting, they can learn about recycling, they can learn about just really anything — bicycle tune-ups, a little bit of everything," she says.
People can also learn more about composting at Garden City Compost, where they will be having a sale on products from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. while also offering free drop-offs, sustainable product vendors and food trucks.
“This is a natural way to sustainably improve soil, improve soil microbial activity and have a healthier planet,” Garden City Compost facility supervisor Jason Duffin says.
Missoula Parks and Recreation is hosting a grand opening for a new Bluebird Preserve Park, which will also expand the Missoula trail system.
"It's also, and this is something that's kind of new to us, Celebrate Trails Day," Parks and Recreation Conservation Lands Program manager Jeff Gicklhorn says. "This is part of the Great American Rail Trail Conservancy, and they have put out Celebrate Trails Day. So we're going to ask people to come outside and celebrate trails by coming and checking out the news newest trails in the valley."
The grand opening event will also bring together various organizations that are able to speak about conserving Montana's public lands.
“It's one day where we can bring the focus to particular projects or properties, but then that hopefully instills, you know, again, stewardship or passion for the remainder of the year," Gicklhorn says.
For the movers and shakers in Missoula, every day is Earth Day.
“I mean for us, we celebrate earth day all year round," Valencia says. "That's really a big part of our mission is reducing waste, providing access to resources, connecting people to different resources in the community. We really think of ourselves as a hub."
Still, for this one day, they are excited to see the city celebrate together.
“Earth is one thing we all have in common. And so we need to enjoy our earth and we need to protect our earth, and there’s no reason why you can’t have fun while we’re doing it," Boman says.
More information on other Earth Day events can be found here.
