PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – In celebration of Earth Month, the City of Long Beach will host a series of fun, free and family-friendly events for residents to enjoy all month long. Earth Day began in 1970 to bring attention to environmental issues and has since spread to weeklong events and celebrations around the world. Earth Month activities and events are organized around the 2023 theme, “Invest in Our Planet.”

“The City has long been an environmental leader and has continued this commitment with the recent adoption of the Long Beach Climate Action Plan,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “Celebrating Earth Month is an opportunity for our community to learn about all of the things we are doing to support our climate and sustainability goals and I encourage our residents to participate in these free, educational events.”

Earth Month celebrations are being organized by the City’s new Office of Climate Action and Sustainability, which was established as a part of the City’s Fiscal Year 2023 Budget by the Long Beach City Council after the adoption of the Long Beach Climate Action Plan (LB CAP) on August 16, 2022. Earth Month activities will also be hosted by the City’s Department of Public Works and Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine.

To commemorate Earth Month 2023, the City has published an Earth Month calendar at www.longbeach.gov/earthmonth promoting a series of community activities and events throughout the month of April, including:

• City Council Earth Day Presentation, Tuesday, April 4, at 5 p.m. – Held in the Council Chambers (411 W. Ocean Blvd.), the presentation will kick off Earth Month with an acknowledgement celebrating the month’s activities and announcing the new Office of Climate Action and Sustainability.
• Earth Day Coastal Cleanup, Saturday, April 15, 10 a.m. to noon – Protect the Long Beach coastline and get together for a cleanup to keep the local marine environment healthy. Volunteers will meet on the sand east of Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier and are encouraged to bring their own bucket or bag to reduce carbon footprint. Event will be cancelled if it rains. Call 562.570.1745 for more information.
• Long Beach Eco Fair, Tuesday, April 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. – Held in the Civic Center Plaza (411 W. Ocean Blvd.), the event will feature booths and exhibits from multiple City Departments, community partners, food trucks and more. The community is encouraged to join the festivities and learn more about the City’s green programs and services.
• Annual City Nature Challenge, Saturday, April 29, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. – Held at Willow Springs Park (2755 Orange Ave.), the public is invited to partake in this international event where park patrons observe the unique plant and animal life around them and share those observations with other cities across the globe via the iNaturalist app. A variety of activities will also take place along the trails including workshops and a community paint-by-number mural.
• Learn to Vermicompost Workshop at the City Nature Challenge, Saturday, April 29, 9:30 to 10 a.m. – Held as part of the Annual City Nature Challenge, join Long Beach Recycles to learn how to turn your food scraps into a valuable soil amendment for your garden or landscape with vermicompost – composting with worms! For more information and to sign up, visit http://bit.ly/lbcomposts429.
• #EarthMonthChallenge, Saturday, April 1 through Sunday, April 30 – Join the LBRecycles team for the #EarthMonthChallenge. Share a photo of how you reduce, reuse, recycle right or compost to get a chance to receive a set of reusables (a metal straw, utensils kit, a Swedish dishcloth, and a recycled cotton tote bag). Stay tuned every week as we share a new challenge!
  • To participate:
    • Share your photo on social media (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) and tag @LBRecycles and #EarthMonthChallenge in your post OR
    • Email your photo to lbrecycles@longbeach.gov Four (4) winners will be picked on Monday, May 1st and contacted via social media or email.

For more information about these upcoming City events and other Earth Day activities happening throughout the Long Beach community, please visit the City’s Earth Month 2023 Calendar.

Residents with questions or who desire more information may visit longbeach.gov/sustainability/ or contact the Office of Climate Action and Sustainability at Sustainability@longbeach.gov. You may also follow the Office’s Facebook and Instagram pages and sign up for the newsletter to receive updates.