Join Us in Celebrating Earth Day 2022!

Earth Day is coming up this Friday, April 22!

Read on for ways to get involved by volunteering, taking action, or learning what you can do to celebrate Earth Day every day!

Earth Day Events

Salt Lake City has had a wealth of Earth Day focused events going on all month. Looking for something to do before the month is over to celebrate all the cool things our planet does? Wanting to learn some ways you can help keep our Earth healthy or support those pushing for big changes? Do we have the website for you!

Check out our Earth Day 2022 website for a list of amazing events going on across the city.

This weekend, there’s an Earth Day Jordan River Clean Up with HEAL Utah; Party for the Planet events with both Tracy Aviary and Hogle Zoo (come say “Hi!” if you see us at Hogle Zoo!); or watch the Climate Change Film Tour with Utah Clean Energy and  The Nature Conservancy at the Salt Lake Film Society’s Broadway Cinema.

Can’t make it this weekend? Don’t worry, we’ve found events to last you through the rest of the month.

What are we doing?

The team at SLCgreen works hard year-round to #MakeEarthDayEveryDay across the city. Over the last year we’ve accomplished a lot, but here are a few highlights we’re proud of:

• In October, we had a groundbreaking event for the Elektron Solar Project (SLTrib), an 80 Megawatt solar farm to be constructed in Tooele County, Utah. This project will help SLC Corp source nearly 100% of our municipal electricity needs with solar energy, as well as fulfilling the electricity needs of five other large customers.
• Established the Air Quality Action Day Program to encourage city employees to telecommute or modify their commutes on Mandatory Air Quality Action Days.
• Collaborated with the Public Lands Department to assist with the City’s Green City Growers Community Garden Program. Last year saw the successful debut of the Richmond Park Community Garden which opened in July 2021. This year, we are supporting the planning efforts for two new community garden projects, the Harrison Community Garden (699 E Harrison Ave), scheduled to open in 2022, and the Rose Park Neighborhood Center Community Garden, which is on track to open in 2023.
• In 2021, the Waste & Recycling Division collected approximately 73,000 tons of total material, and 37% of the residential waste stream was diverted from the landfill through recycling and composting.

What can you do?

Making #EarthDayEveryDay a reality can be a little daunting, but we have some tips to help make your transition to a sustainable life a little smoother!

Tip 1: Start small. Don’t assume you need to change your entire life in one day to be more sustainable. Start with making one room more sustainable, like your laundry room- get some cotton drier balls,  green laundry detergent, look up how often you should realistically wash your clothes between wears, etc. Maybe you want a more vegetarian diet? Start by doing #meatlessmondays – no need to jump into the vegetarian/vegan life headfirst.

Tip 2: Don’t go it alone. Developing new routines can be hard. Get your friends to make the jump to sustainability with you! Doing a #meatlessmonday? Make it a friend or family dinner. Who doesn’t love a good potluck?

Looking to go thrifting but feel overwhelmed browsing through secondhand clothes? Take a friend so you can get a second opinion on options, or someone to tell you that “Yes! You do look amazing in those secondhand jeans!”

Tip 3: It doesn’t have to be expensive. While there are a lot of amazing ways to make your life more sustainable, some of them can be costly upfront. However, energy efficiency is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most impactful things you can do. Switching your lightbulbs to more efficient options is a great way to make your home greener. See this handy guide from Utah Clean Energy for tips on how to be energy efficient every day. If you do want to make the leap for solar, check out this other resource from Utah Clean Energy on how to navigate this process.

Thank you for joining with us to celebrate and protect this amazing place we call home.

Thank you for making Earth Day, every day!