The community is invited to celebrate the planet at Green Mountain Energy Earth Day at Discovery Green® on Saturday, April 25 from 12 to 5 p.m. This free, family-friendly event will feature a sustainable fashion show, art installations, performances, hands-on workshops, interactive exhibits and a participatory community procession, all designed to inspire awareness, creativity and action around sustainability.
“At Green Mountain Energy, we believe protecting the planet starts with inspiring people to see themselves as part of the solution,” said Andrea Ortega-Toledano, senior director of sustainability atGreen Mountain Energy. “Earth Day at Discovery Green shows that even small, everyday choices can make a lasting impact. This event helps us raise awareness while strengthening our commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable future for Houston.”
The day kicks off with a blessing ceremony of the Earth by Danza Azteca, honoring nature and setting the tone for a celebration focused on environmental stewardship. The opening will be followed by remarks from Discovery Green Conservancy President Kathryn Lott, city council members and a special Earth Day Proclamation.
Since the park opened in 2008, Green Mountain Energy has helped Discovery Green avoid 55 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of planting more than 6,600 trees. “Protecting the natural environment is at the core of Discovery Green’s mission and has been from the very beginning when the park opened in 2008 as Houston’s first LEED-Gold certified park,” President Lott said. “Green Mountain Energy Earth Day combines the park’s sustainability mission with its ability to bring Houstonians together for a day that proves we have the power to protect our planet.”
Families can jump into creative activities like the mask making workshop with Dennis McNett of Wolfbat Studios and a Mosaic Mural made of recycled materials with artist Gleeson Ryan. Creating art together provides opportunity to reflect on the power of community action.
Visitors can enjoy Fireside Chats with Green Mountain Energy Sun Club grant recipients, including the Captain Planet Foundation and the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, providing insight into the transformative work these Houston-area organizations are doing to protect the planet and its wildlife (with support from Green Mountain Energy and its customers).
The celebration features a sustainable fashion show by Magpies & Peacocks, showcasing designs made from repurposed textiles, including a special appearance by the Wolfbat Monsters, with models wearing handmade masks created by students from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The University of Houston – Downtown Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability, a Sun-Club recipient, will present a student art gallery in an open-air setting, highlighting mission-driven creative works inspired by environmental stewardship.
Additional interactive activities include a playful “Family Feud: Plastic Detox Edition,” hosted by Dany Millikin of the Willow Waterhole Conservancy, a Sun-Cub recipient, as well as educational exhibits from Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, University of Houston-Downtown and other community organizations, showcasing local sustainability, conservation and environmental initiatives.
The celebration culminates with a lively second line led by the Free Radicals. Participants will join a public procession wearing their handmade masks, accompanied by large-scale 12-foot puppets representing animals and a central Mother Earth figure. The procession ends with a closing ceremony honoring the Earth and calling attention to our shared responsibility to protect and restore it.
Green Mountain Energy Earth Day will be a zero-waste event, and attendees are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles and utensils to reduce waste and support the park’s sustainability goals.
As a longtime supporter and the official energy provider of Discovery Green, Green Mountain Energy provides the park with 100% clean, renewable energy.
Green Mountain Energy Earth Day is presented by Discovery Green in partnership with Citizens’ Environmental Coalition. Community partners include Magpies & Peacocks and the University of Houston-Downtown.
For more information on Green Mountain Energy Earth Day at Discovery Green and to learn more about exhibitor opportunities, please visit discoverygreen.com/earthday.
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ABOUT DISCOVERY GREEN®
Discovery Green® is a highly acclaimed 12-acre park created by a public-private partnership between the City of Houston and the nonprofit Discovery Green Conservancy in downtown Houston, Texas. Since opening in April 2008, the park has welcomed more than 20 million visitors. Discovery Green® features sprawling lawns, a one-acre lake, an interactive fountain, a playground, public art installations, gardens and an allée of century-old live oaks. The Discovery Green Conservancy works with hundreds of programming partners to present artistic, musical, educational, family-friendly and health-focused events each year, most of which are presented free to the public. The park also features two on-site restaurants, the award-winning destination restaurant The Grove and the fast-casual The Lake House, providing visitors with an array of dining options. As a nonprofit organization, the Conservancy raises all the funds needed for the programming that Houstonians enjoy. For more information, please visit https://www.discoverygreen.com. Arts programming is made possible in part by the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.
ABOUT GREEN MOUNTAIN ENERGY
Green Mountain Energy is the nation’s longest serving renewable energy retailer, on a mission to inspire hope and motivate action through the use of clean energy. Green Mountain offers consumers and businesses the choice of cleaner electricity plans from renewable sources, as well as a variety of carbon offset products and sustainable solutions for businesses. Collectively, Green Mountain Energy customers have helped avoid more than 115 billion pounds of carbon dioxide emissions to date. Green Mountain is lighting the path to a brighter future by supporting the sustainable projects of nonprofits through our charitable program, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. To learn more, visit greenmountainenergy.com.
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Discovery Green. Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.
