Celebrate Earth Day in Raleigh

This Friday marks Earth Day, and a number of activities and celebrations are planned for the Raleigh area.

N.C. State University will hold an Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Brickyard behind D.H. Hill Library on Hillsborough Street. There will be organic food, vendors and music, and participants will have the chance to power a light bulb by pedaling a bike or make crafts from recycled materials. The festivities will wrap up with “Tree Jam” from 6 to 11 p.m., an event that will be held at the Wolf Village courtyard and feature student, faculty and staff musicians, poets and comedians.

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will also hold an Earth Day celebration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. featuring live animals, children’s activities and exhibits on water quality and climate change. Bring along your old cell phone and batteries, as the museum will host a recycling center.

And for some Earth Day activism, you could take part in Pesticide Action Network of North America’s national call-in day to Bayer CropScience’s Research Triangle Park, N.C. headquarters. PANNA is calling on Bayer to stop selling agricultural products containing lindane, an organochlorine pesticide that has been banned in 50 countries because it builds up in the bodies of humans and other living beings, causing serious health problems including cancer and nervous system disorders. Click here for more details.

Happy Earth Day!