Festival del Día de la Tierra de St. Louis 2023

By Red Latina

Last week, April 22 and 23, it was freezing cold in Forest Park, but people still came to celebrate Earth Day! For more than 30 years, Earthday365 has organized the St. Louis Earth Day Festival, the largest free Earth Day Festival in the Midwest, to build a stronger and more inclusive environmental movement. But, did you also know that they founded the “Green Dining Alliance” to certify sustainable restaurants and offer Zero Waste event consulting throughout the year? This and more is what they do during the 365 days that we go around the sun. Presenting the 2023 Sustainability Awards, City of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, and St. Louis Zoo WildCare Park Director were presented during the event. , Dr. Jo-Elle Mogerman, were the speakers at the opening ceremony of the St. Louis Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 22.

Winners and finalists

“Hellbender Award for Leadership in Environmental Sustainability”

WINNER: Louise Bradshaw, Director of Education, St. Louis Zoo

WINNER: Emily Andrews, Executive Director, Missouri Gateway Green Building

Council

FINALIST: Aaron Young, Sustainability Planning Manager, East-West Gateway Council of Governments

Jenn DeRose, Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club

Eve Cooney, Youth Programs Coordinator, St. Louis Zoo

Mary Grose, Good Dirt Composting Collective

“Keystone Community Activist Award”

WINNER:Tyrean Lewis, Heru Urban Farming FINALIST – Judith Arnold, SLACO

Velma Bailey, Torchbearers of St. Louis 2 Janett Lewis, Rustic Roots Sanctuary

“Circularity in the Company Award for Recognition of sustainability in business”

WINNER – REFAB

RUNNER-UP – New Earth Farm St. Louis Cardinals

Perennial

Tiny house project in Benton Park West

The St. Louis Community Foundation (Community Foundation), was the organizer of this event, which also serves its donors and the community to achieve an equitable and vibrant region. The Community Foundation inspires purposeful philanthropy that connects community and donors, giving what it takes to meet the goal of making St. Louis better, today and always.

The Foundation has more than 800 individual charitable funds that exceed $500 million in assets. On behalf of its donors, the Community Foundation annually awards approximately $100 million in grants to nonprofit organizations.

The Foundation invited us to attend the upcoming event: “STL Giving Day” a holiday that unites the region as one community, raising money and awareness for more than a thousand local non-profit organizations in 13 metropolitan areas of St. Louis and surrounding areas, including some counties in Illinois. In addition to being a resource for donors in the St. Louis region, the initiative expands giving during an online giving day in May. Since its inception in 2014, the event has raised $26 million for local nonprofit organizations. Give STL Day is May 10, 2023. To celebrate the 10th annual day of giving, they will be adding an additional ten hours of giving and more opportunities for nonprofits to win prizes. Give STL Day will end at 10am. m. of May 11.