Angela visits sustainable Austin activities to honor Earth Day

Earth day is coming up on April 22 and there are optimal ways to show your love for mother nature. These are some ideas to enjoy simple pleasures while also helping to preserve our city’s environment. 

You can start off by exploring Austin’s most renowned green spaces. The most notable one being Zilker metropolitan park and the Barton Creek Greenbelt, which offer a place where you can spread out your picnic blanket, hang a hammock, play football, Frisbee, or even sand volleyball. 

Afterwards, you can cool off at the iconic Barton springs pool located in the grounds of Zilker park. They’re open everyday from 5 a.m.-10 p.m., but keep in mind from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. it’s swim at your own risk. Fees to swim at Barton Springs range from $2-6 depending on your age but since COVID, they have changed. 

You can also participate in sustainable activities at Austin’s Earth Day festival held annually at the Huston-Tilotson University campus to learn about conservation solutions to benefit our community’s environment. This event takes place on April 23 from 12 p.m. – 6 p.m. where it’s free and open to the public. Thousands of people come each year to get connected with our local green businesses and learn how to make sustainable choices that benefit our community.

At the Earth Day ATX festival, a venue is provided for businesses, advocacy groups, nonprofits, and community leaders to connect with the public about the interest of sustainability, innovation, and environmental justice. They have engaging exhibitions, workshop tents, that allow you to discover exciting new activities and get you more connected with the environment and its issues. 

Aside from the informative workshop tents they also have a stage where they feature local bands, an interactive cafe, guided physical activities like yoga, and a kids zone. To find more information on their hours, map, and event you can go to their website at www.earthdayaustin.com. This is an event you won’t want to miss out on. 

Just right down the road on La Crosse Ave is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center, which is a botanical garden located in Austin. Their main ambition is to conserve our local native plants in a manner that also appreciates them and allows their beauty to be recognized. By taking the trails they have to offer you can see such beauty in the plants and the environment. The architecture they have built around it amplifies the surrounding nature, such as Lynda’s library which provides a peaceful shaded place and a lending library of children’s books. 

Other than the pleasures they already provide, they also host events that are limited to the season. Currently, they’re hosting a spring native plant sale that takes place until May 8. Apart from appreciating nature on their trails, they also have a cafe with indoor and outdoor dining areas surrounded by flowers. Although they have a limited menu option of sandwiches, salads, soups, drinks, snacks, and sweets, they’re at reasonable prices and also fairly healthy. To furthermore enjoy your experience you can visit their gift shop.  You can find more volunteering opportunities and hours  on their website at www.wildflower.org.