Discover more coastal celebrations and programs at Earth Day 2024. First held in 1970 to bring awareness to environmental issues, Earth Day takes place annually on April 22.
Organizers have scheduled educational talks, walks and more for the first Ocracoke Earth Day weekend celebration taking place April 19-21.
Sponsor Spotlight
Ocracoke Alive Inc., a nonprofit organization that encourages and sponsors cultural, artistic, educational and environmental activities, has been working with area groups to coordinate the three days of festivities.
During the three days there will be nature walks, history talks, gardening, nature crafts, live music, stargazing, a village litter cleanup, and informative discussions and presentations about sustainability and solutions. The weekend ends with a community beach fire at Ocracoke’s lifeguard beach.
“We want to strike a balance between celebrating the beauty around us, while also offering discussions about the threats to the coastal environment and learning about practical and sustainable solutions to these threats,” Ocracoke Alive Director David Tweedie said in a release.
Keynote speaker for the weekend is Reide Corbett, executive director of East Carolina University’s Coastal Studies Institute. He is scheduled to present “North Carolina’s Changing Coast: Sea level, Storms, and People” at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ocracoke Community Center.
Corbett leads an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff that integrates the fields of engineering, maritime history, natural, and social sciences.
Sponsor Spotlight
The celebration kicks off at 3:45 p.m. Friday, April 19, with an Earth Day student parade from Ocracoke School library to the Ocracoke Commons at the Island Inn property.
A full schedule is available on Ocracoke Alive’s website, including the following:
Friday, April 19
3:45 p.m. Ocracoke Earth Day Parade from Ocracoke Library to Ocracoke Commons. Those interested in participating should assemble at the library at 3:30 p.m.
4 p.m. Ocracoke Earth Day Welcome/Tour of Island Inn Commons.
5:30 p.m. Meet your Ocracoke fisherman and tour the Ocracoke Seafood Co.
7 p.m. Friday Night Concert featuring Bob and Jeanie Zentz, Deepwater Theater.
8:45 p.m. Stargazing and Celestial Navigation, Lifeguard beach. Bring binoculars if you want.
Saturday, April 20
8 a.m. – Bird walk with Peter Vankevich, NPS Campground parking lot.
8 a.m. – Help planting and beautifying at the British Cemetery, Sundae Horn.
10 a.m. – Trash to Treasure with Ella Ralston, Ocracoke Library
11 a.m. – Student Presentation: Surveying Stream Watch Presentation with Ocracoke eighth grade class, Karen Teklinsky, Community Center.
Noon – Latino Community Migrations to North Carolina, Daniel Velásquez, Community Center.
Noon – Nature and Garden Crafts for Families, Sundae Horn, Ocracoke Community Library.
1 p.m. Local Food and Resilience in Eastern NC: Past, Present, and Future, Carla Norwood and Gabriel Cumming, Community Center.
1 p.m. Trash pickup on Ocracoke Beach.
2 p.m. Ocracoke Ponies: Past and Present, Ocracoke Preservation Society Porch Talk.
3 p.m. Panel Discussion on Ocracoke Sustainability and Solutions Bevin Hardy and Heidi Smith, Community Center.
5 p.m. Green Energy Solutions Gustave Younggren, Community Center.
7 p.m. Keynote Speaker Reide Corbett from Coastal Studies Institute.
8 p.m. Earth Day Open Mic and Dance Party, Deepwater Theater.
Sunday, April 21
8 a.m. Yoga at the Community Square Docks with Desiree Adams.
9 a.m. Island Gardening & Medicinal Herbs with Kate McNally and Joseph Ramunni, Ocracoke Garden Center.
10 a.m. Ocracoke Fig Talk, Sundae Horn & Chester Lynn, Ocracoke Preservation Society.
11 a.m. Shores of Resilience: Navigating Climate Change in Coastal Communities, Bevin Hardy, Community Center.
Noon: Island Pollinators with Denise Deacon, Community Center.
Noon: Trash to Treasure with Ella Ralston, Ocracoke Library.
1:30 p.m. Nature Walk and history talk at Springer’s Point with Kane Lawhorn and Philip Howard.
2 p.m. “Trashion” Show, Ella Ralston, Ocracoke Library.
3:30 p.m. Community Beach Bonfire and Smores, and Earth Day Ocracoke farewell (Rain location: Community Center).
Here are links for the festival:
