Spring is in the air and Earth Day activities are happening everywhere! April is full of adventures and events that celebrate the wonders of our unique South Florida environment. On land or on water, get in touch with nature to celebrate Mother Earth.

Saturday, April 2

Matheson Hammock Sketching Eco Walk

Walk with eco-historian Frank Schena through shady Matheson Hammock and sketch the surroundings if you wish. Hear about its distant past as an Indian hunting ground and absorb the diversity of flora and fauna that grows there today. Advance reservations suggested. $25. 10am–12:30pm. Matheson Hammock Park, 9610 Old Cutler Rd. Miami. 305-375-1621

14th Annual Miami River Day Festival

This festival celebrates the history and culture of Miami’s working river and features riverboat rides, a variety of live music, children’s activities, environmental education, historical re-enactors, bike valet & more. 11am–4pm. Free. Lummus Park, 250 NW North River Drive. 305-644-0544. www.miamirivercommission.org

Sunday, April 10

Earth Day Festival

The festival will feature a farmer’s market, green vendors, workshops & demos on a variety of “earth-friendly” topics, garden tours, recycle/salvage drop-off station, and much more. 9am–4pm. Pinecrest Gardens, 11000 Red Rd, Pinecrest. 305-234-2121. www.pinecrest-fl.gov

The Commodore’s Birthday Party

Join The Barnacle Society for an evening of music, food, & drink in celebration of the 160th birthday of Commodore Ralph Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s founding fathers. This event features a silent auction with great buys on goods and services. 6–9pm. Early registration discount. $45/door, $10/ child under 10. The Barnacle Historic State Park, 3485 Main Hwy, across from the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Proceeds from this event support preservation of The Barnacle. 305-442-6866.

Biscayne National Park’s Family Fun Fest: BioBlitz Rewind

Last April, thousands of people helped identify over 800 different species of plants and animals in just 24 hours as part of the National Geographic BioBlitz. Re-live this amazing event by practicing your observation, identification & mapping skills, & take an in-depth look at some of the surprising discoveries made by citizen-scientists just like yourself! Free. 1–4pm. Biscayne National Park-Dante Fascell Visitor Center, 9700 SW 328 St. Homestead. 305-230-7275, www.nps.gov/bisc

Saturday, April 16

Baynanza 2011 Biscayne Bay Cleanup

Baynanza is scheduled to take place from 9am–noon & celebrates one of our most precious natural resources, Biscayne Bay, and its surroundings. There are 31 cleanup sites around Miami-Dade Co. to choose from so chances are that there is one near you! This community event draws more than 7,500 volunteers out to the shores and islands of our Bay every year. In 2010, they collectively removed a record amount of more than 40 tons of garbage from our shorelines & nearby islands. Reg req. 305-372-6784. Multiple clean up sites. Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is located on Key Biscayne. From Miami, take I-95 to the Rickenbacker Cswy, all the way to the end. www.miamidade.gov

Saturday & Sunday, April 16 & 17

Party for the Planet

Zoo Miam’s Earth Day celebration, Party for the Planet, has“Green” activities and entertainment for the entire family as well as animal enrichment with recycled items and/or natural materials like newspapers, cardboard tubes, bamboo, old tires, fire hoses & more. The Tropical Flowering Tree Society will host the world’s largest plant show & sale. Guests can come in free of charge if they turn in a cellphone as part of our ECO-CELL phone recycling program. Not only will each person donating a cellphone enter the zoo for free on these two days, but they will also help save gorillas! Cell phones include coltan, a mineral extracted in the deep forests of the Congo in central Africa, home to the world’s endangered lowland gorillas. Fueled by the worldwide cell phone boom, Congo’s out-of-control coltan mining business has, in recent years, led to a dramatic reduction of animal habitat and the rampant slaughter of great apes for the illegal bush-meat trade. By turning in your cell phone, we can hopefully reduce the need for additional coltan … and help protect the gorillas. 10am–4pm. Zoo Miami, 12400 SW 152 St. Miami. 305-255-5551. www.zoomiami.org

Sunday, April 17

Earth Day Celebration

Celebrate all things green at The Barnacle. Booths will feature green businesses and local environmental groups. There will be environmental activities for the kids. Bring your own picnic, or buy burgers, hot dogs, and veggie dogs there. Acoustic music will be provided by local favorite Lenny Batista noon–3pm. Free with park admission of $2, 11am–4pm. The Barnacle Historic State Park, 3485 Main Hwy, Coconut Grove. 305-442-6866. www.FloridaStateParks.org/TheBarnacle

Sunday, April 17

Earthfest 2011

Fun for the whole family with hands-on nature workshops, organic & vegetarian food, Nature walks, and a Kids Corner, Workshops include Organic gardening, Every Child Outdoors, Raw food preparation, Qigong, Yoga, Deep Ecology & more. Families may bring blankets or lawn chairs to enjoy the outdoor concerts, and recycle old or used electronics or computers/computer parts. Bring re-usable water bottles (free refills provided), bring drum/instrument for drum circle. Sorry no pets! Parking at Crandon Park is $6 or take the B bus from Brickell Metrorail Station. Noon–Sundown. Crandon Park, Visitors’ & Nature Center on Key Biscayne (No. Beach Entrance), 6767 Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne. www.earth-learning.org

Thursday, April 21

Vizcaya Moonlight Garden Tour

Enjoy Vizcaya’s breathtaking gardens along Biscayne Bay under the light of the full moon. Informal concerts of live music with light refreshments for sale in the courtyard of the Main House. Vizcaya’s Volunteer Guides will be on hand to answer questions and lead area tours in the gardens. Reservations are not required. Not all garden areas are wheelchairaccessible. 6:30pm. $15. 3251 So. Miami Ave. Miami. 305-860-8442. www.miamidade.gov/vizcaya

Friday, April 22

Earth Day @ Fairchild Gardens

Celebrate Earth Day at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden! Enjoy Free Admission to the garden. Indulge the little ones in educational Kids’ Activities. Eat gourmet food from local food trucks gastroPod and MexZican Gourmet. Learn about local non-profit environmental organizations. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Books & Books present a special Earth Day book signing featuring author Joel M. Curxon presenting his book Light Fading: Reflections on the Imperiled Everglades @ 3pm in Garden House. 9:30am–4:30pm. 10901 Old Cutler Rd Coral Gables. 305-667-1651. www.fairchildgarden.org

Saturday, April 23

Stiltsville, Key Biscayne & Cape

Florida Lighthouse Boat Trip Enjoy this boat trip with historian Dr. Paul George to one of Miami’s hidden gems—Stiltsville, a remnant community of seven houses perched on stilts in the middle of the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay. Advance reservations and payment required. $25–$49. 10am–1pm. Bayside Marketplace, 401 Biscayne Blvd. Miami. 305-375-1621. www.hmsf.org

Saturday, April 24

Miami Is Goin’ Green!

Your source for everything green. Over 100 exhibits including the Human Bike Blender-the most ecofriendly smoothie ever, Secure Shredding, Ekotik fashion show, live entertainment, free bike valet, and a solar powered Wii. Get educated with seminars and workshops at the Eco-Stage. Children can enjoy interactive experiments at the Miami Science Museum’s Mad Lab. Free. 10am–7pm. Bayfront Park, 301 No. Biscayne Blvd.

Earth Day Programming On Public Television

PBS Kids’ Share The Earth Day

Wednesday, April 20

Bag It – Premieres 9 pm WLRN Channel 17 & WPBT Channel 2

Try going a day without plastic. Plastic is everywhere and infiltrates our lives in unimaginable and frightening ways. In this touching and often flat-out-funny film, we follow “everyman” Jeb Berrier, who is admittedly not a tree hugger, as he embarks on a global tour to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. What starts as a film about plastic bags evolves into a wholesale investigation into plastic and its effect on our waterways, oceans, & even our own bodies. We see how our crazy-for-plastic world has finally caught up to us and what we can do about it. Today. Right now.

Monday, April 19

Beyond the Light Switch – 10pm & 11pm WLRN Channel 17 & WPBT Channel 2

This two-part, documentary series thoughtfully considers the trade offs of carbon capture & storage, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a nuclear renaissance, the costs of solar power, the sprawl of wind power and the feasibility of a super grid. Comprehensive and timely, Beyond the Light Switch will add a much needed balanced perspective to a national energy debate that will surely become more heated and more critical than anything since health care.

PBS Kids’ Share The Earth Day

April 18–22 (check WLRN Channel 17 & WPBT Channel 2 local listings for times in your area).

PBS KIDS Share the Earth Day, features themed episodes and web content on water conservation, planting and growing, nature and recycling. Join PBS Parents, PBS KIDS and PBS KIDS GO! and Get Your Family to “Dig In” to Earth Day with… Visit pbskids.org/games/earthday, a kid-friendly games website about looking after the planet.

SID THE SCIENCE KID – Weekdays at 11am

The engaging & entertaining animated preschool series that encourages kids to explore & experience science celebrates Earth Day with four new episodes. The new episodes each explore a different science theme related to the environment. Sid, the show’s energetic and inquisitive preschool star, begins each episode with a new question and spends a fun-filled day finding answers with help from his friends & family.