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This weekend, Earth Day is coming to a city near you.
Earth Day started in 1970, emerging from the student-driven anti-war movement of the 1960s and a growing awareness of environmental degradation just one year after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara.
Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson worked with student activist Denis Hayes to harness that energy, organizing teach-ins at college campuses around the country. It sparked a series of student protests against harms to the environment and human health caused by industrial development. They chose April 22 to get more students to participate - the date falls between spring break and final exams.
Since then it’s grown into a global movement with more than a billion people participating, which makes it the most widely observed secular event, according to EarthDay.org.
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Here are just a few of the Earth Day events happening around New Hampshire this weekend.
Nashua is organizing its first-ever sustainability fair, bringing together local nonprofits that are working on everything from clean energy to farming and environmental justice. They’ll showcase electric vehicles and electric yard tools, host a bike repair clinic, and put on a thrift fashion show. The library is hosting a mending table this week where you can get mending supplies and free clothes to wear on the catwalk. The event will be held at Nashua Public Library plaza on Saturday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Manchester is also putting on an Earth Day clean-up event, encouraging residents to clean up around the city. The Department of Public Works will have five locations from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m where you can pick up trash bags and gloves and drop off trash. Pre-register here.
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- Jewett Street School, 130 S Jewett St, Manchester, N.H. 03103
- Northwest Elementary, 300 Youville St, Manchester, N.H. 03102
- Hillside Middle School, 112 Reservoir Ave, Manchester, N.H. 03104
- Beech Street School, 333 Beech St, Manchester, N.H. 03103
- Victory Park/Harnett Parking lot, 139 Concord St, Manchester, N.H. 03101
Portsmouth is hosting a sustainability fair kick-off event on Friday, April 21, from 4 to 7 p.m. The goal is to bring together nonprofits and citizen initiatives to let people know how they can get involved in sustainability efforts.
Events outside the cities:
New Hampshire Audubon has an Earth Day event at the Massabesic Center in Auburn, featuring a guided bird walk, as well as a live raptor and reptile presentation. It costs $10 for members and $15 for non-members to attend and starts at 10 a.m.
Help clean up one of the state’s most popular hiking destinations, Mt. Major, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests will haul trash away until 2 p.m.
The Sierra Club’s Earth Day celebration is at the Gilmanton Library from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Send your photos from Earth Day to NHNews@globe.com and we may feature them in next week’s Morning Report newsletter!
The Big Picture
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.