April 22nd is Earth Day, an annual event celebrated since 1970 to promote environmental protection. Henrico County has a long history of environmental stewardship and has recently strengthened that commitment by creating Henrico’s Environmental Action Resource Team (H.E.A.R.T.). H.E.A.R.T. is a robust committee of county employees representing many different departments. The committee is focused on identifying sustainability initiatives and goals to improve county operations in the areas of green space and recreation, energy resources and conservation, water, mobility and active transportation, and education and outreach. Cari Tretina and Steve Yob are leading the H.E.A.R.T. effort, which will soon expand to involve representatives of the Henrico community, including a youth council.
Henrico County will celebrate Earth Day this year with a public festival at Deep Run Park on Saturday, April 22nd, from 10 AM – 1 PM, hosted by Recreation & Parks and Keep Henrico Beautiful. The event will feature live music, food trucks, and activities such as face painting, seed planting, a sensory-friendly activity tent, and a vendor fair. County departments, local environmental groups, and business vendors will share information on energy efficiency, recycling, residential solar, air quality, native plants, and more. In addition, Tech For Troops will be collecting retired technology and refurbishing it to help veterans in need. A list of equipment they accept can be found at https://techfortroops.org/support/equipment-donations/. Go green by recycling your old technology to help a veteran.
