What could be better than a day of celebrating the earth, except possibly an entire week of activities centered on the environment and sustainability? The City of Bozeman in collaboration with Montana State University and the Associated Students of Montana State University (ASMSU) have come together to present the fourth annual Gallatin Earth Celebration (GEC) beginning Monday, April 16th, and wrapping up on Earth Day, Sunday, April 22nd. In order to give the readers of Bozeman Magazine the inside scoop on this excellent opportunity to engage in community and make a difference, I met with three leaders for environmental action in our area: Gretchen Hooker, current Director of the ASMSU Sustainability Center, Andy “Cotton” Sarjahani, incoming Director of the ASMSU Sustainability Center, and Natalie Meyer, Grants Coordinator/Climate Protection Coordinator for the City of Bozeman. Without further ado, here is the skinny on the GEC.

According to Meyer, the GEC grew out of a twenty-three year old local tradition, called Bozeman Clean Up Day. This event was initially a spring clean up that took place after the melting of winter snow, and in recent years, the focus has shifted to Earth Day. The current week long celebration is the result of the growing collaboration of many different organizations and traditions. The GEC is comprised of a wide variety of events, largely free and open to the public.

The keystone event, the Bozeman Clean Up Day and Sustainability Fair, will take place on Saturday, April 21st. Citizens of Bozeman, this is your chance to pitch in and help maintain the public places that we love. It starts at 8:30 in the morning at Bogert Park, but do not despair, they will give you coffee. As Meyer, the coordinator of the event, explained, this is a “service opportunity for families to teach children that they can give back to the community in a meaningful way.” After you have done your part to preserve beautiful resources in our city, there will be a celebration involving lovely things like live music, food, and a raffle. The results from last year’s clean up are encouraging. According to Meyer, “Volunteers removed 2.7 tons of trash and recyclables from the streets during the 2011 Clean Up event.”

Starting on Monday and going throughout the week, there will be a wide array of student-led activities on campus, including such fun as the Bike to the Brewery, the Electric Car Showcase, and the Bizarre Bike Parade. Should all of this activism work up an appetite, stop by the Strand Union Building on Tuesday, April 17th, for the Local Food Fair & Symposium. This event will incorporate local vendors, workshops, and a presentation by journalist Melinda Hemmelgarn on “Thinking Beyond our Plates: Recipe for a Good Food Revolution.” On Thursday, April 19th, the Network of Environmentally Conscious Organizations (NECO) and the ASMSU Sustainability Center are hosting a Sustainability and Environmental Topical Session during the Student Research Celebration. As Hooker explained, this session is a way of connecting academics, sustainability, and student activism. Another great opportunity for students, in this case both college and high school, is the Summit on Sustainability and the Environment that will be held on Friday, April 20th. In conjunction with this summit, eligible students may participate in photography and essay contests.

In addition to the keystone event on Saturday, the “Get Off Your Glass-Glass Recycling Drive” and the “E-Waste Collection” will take place at the Gallatin County Fair Grounds from 9am-4pm, offering you the chance to recycle glass and properly dispose of awkward electronic waste respectively, at no cost. The final event that I will present, which is amazingly not an exhaustive list, is the 2012 Spirit of Earth Day, which will take place on Sunday, April 22nd at the Museum of the Rockies. This Spirit of Earth Day provides a platform to consider the relationship between spirituality and conservation.

The Gallatin Earth Celebration is significant not only because of the work that will be done, the many occasions to learn and participate in an environmental dialogue, and the opportunity to get involved in our vibrant community, but also because of what it represents. This celebration is a collaboration of many groups, including the City of Bozeman and Montana State University, and in my opinion, this partnership is one of the great strengths of the wonderful place that we live.

I would like to pass on to you four simple ways that you can live more sustainably in Bozeman, per my conversation with these environmentally aware representatives:

1.   Recycle
2.   Make use of reusable bags
3.   Ditto for coffee containers
4.   Take advantage of the Streamline Bus System

For complete information on these events, please visit the GEC website at http://www.montana.edu/gec/    

Jamie Balke was excited to stretch the old Environmental Studies muscles in the writing and researching of this article. Captain Planet is still her hero.