There were several Earth Day celebrations and events Thursday. One of the biggest and most successful was the official City of Sacramento Earth Day Celebration. The event was held at Cesar Chavez Park and in the plaza of City Hall. An estimated 3,500 people of all ages attend this years' event. It was supported by Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council. The City of Sacramento Neighborhood Services Department organized the event.

I spoke with Neighborhood Services Department Director Vincene Jones. Jones and her staff started back in January giving early notice to Sacramento area schools, informing them of the event and its value as a field trip. Local media was enlisted to help get the word out. They worked with Regional Transit to secure 560 one-day free passes for bus and light rail. This allowed students to use public transit to and from the event in keeping with the values of Earth Day.

Staff had targeted junior high and high school students. It was obvious that there were large numbers of younger kids also. They especially stood out in the orange aprons given to them by Home Depot along with plants to take home for planting.

Home Depot had one of 59 booths. About 25 booths were commercial entities. The rest were city departments, other governmental entities, nonprofits, education and others.  The 59 booths were an increase of about 35% over last year.

Mavis McAllister from American River College and Peggy Ursine with Cosumes River College were promoting Los Rios GreenForce. This is a program with all four Los Rios colleges that prepares students to work in green industries.

Ryan Bailey had a booth promoting Sacramento Sustainable Businesses. This included BERC, a free public service provided by Sacramento County, the city of Sacramento, Sacramento Utilities Departments and Sacramento Local Regulatory Agencies. They advise businesses on how to navigate all the complex environmental regulations.

City of Sacramento departments included utilities, promoting pollution prevention in waste water runoff, recycling, composting and one of several displays of worm bins. City employees Jamie Cutlip and Karl Kurka operated a booth promoting the city's Create a Sustainable Sacramento program. Bill Maynard, who works tirelessly at events like this, was giving out tomato plants as part of the city of Sacramento Community Garden Program.

The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District booth was a great hit with the kids. There were live displays of all stages of mosquitos and mosquito fish that eat them The kids were having a great time watching the mosquito fish eating mosquito larva. Kevin Valone and Steve Ramos with Vector Control said that this was one of the best turnouts for any of the venues they have been to. They were especially pleased with all kids asking them questions. They said they have found it best to educate the young kids to achieve their goal of protecting public health and welfare from diseases transmitted by mosquitoes such as West Nile virus, Western Equine Encephalitis, canine heartworm, malaria and others. In most cases, the kids go back to their families and educate them. This was a comment that was echoed by many of those presenting at the event.

There was also entertainment, with a message for the kids from Radio Disney, a performance from Top Class Magic and the Sacramento City College theatrical performance of the “Fall of X,” a play about the dangers of joining a gang.

Besides Home Depot, there were several other commercial green businesses or businesses with green products. These included Sacramento Natural Foods Coop, Costco, Propel Alternative Fuels, Green Sacramento Construction Services and several solar energy companies.

Jake Millan with Propel related a story about the power of kids. A man who came to his booth told him that he had recently purchased a flex fuel vehicle that would run on E85. When asked what prompted this, the man replied that his kids were so embarrassed and tired of getting teased when they were dropped off at school in the family Hummer they pushed the family to buy a more responsible vehicle.

Now I do not want to create the impression that the city of Sacramento Earth Day Celebration was only for kids. There were large numbers of downtown and state office workers asking questions and collecting information. I spoke with Rocklin Treasurer Kim Sarkovich and Mary Rister, one of her staffers. They were attending a conference on municipal finance. They said they were having a wonderful time visiting the event during their lunch break. They were particularly enjoying the Sacramento Natural Foods Coop booth. Part of Sarkovich's interest stems from her hobby as a suburban beekeeper.

All the people I spoke with who had displays at the event were very pleased with the turnout and response from the public. They expressed that Jones and her staff at Neighborhood Services were great to work with and that they were pleased with the commitment throughout the city government supporting a green and sustainable Sacramento.

Photos:  1. Welcoming kids to Sacramento Earth Day Celebration  2-3. City of Sacramento Neighborhood Services Department  4. Ryan Bailey, Sacramento Sustainable Businesses  5. city Department of Utilities  6. Jamie Cutlip and Karl Kurka, Create a Sustainable Sacramento  7. Bill Maynard, Sacramento Community Garden Program  8. Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District employees Kevin Valone and Steve Ramos 9. Radio Disney entertains  10. Sacramento Natural Foods Coop  11. Dennis with Costco  13. A solar energy provider and Jake Millan in front of the Propel Alternative Fuels booth  12. Green Sacramento Construction Services 13. Kim Sarkovich and Mary Rister check out the Soil Born Farms booth with employees Randy and Jackie