HOW TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY 

STUDENTS VOLUNTEER: Fifty 8th-grade students of Asheville Middle School clean up with RiverLink * Photo of April 3, 2009, cleanup: RiverLink

*RIVERLINK ACTIVE on Earth Day, April 22 | How to get 'RiverLinked' on Earth Day: 10 a.m. to noon with rain-barrel building workshop; Noon to 4 p.m. with river cleanup; 3:30 to 5:30 p.m free watershed education programs | For details about RiverLink's Earth Day opportunities for the public, visit riverlink.org or Click Here>

*EARTH DAY CONCERT in Asheville | On Weds., April 22, 2009, Earth Day Asheville, a concert event, will celebrate Earth Day at the Orange Peel in cooperation with Buncombe County's Asheville Greenworks (formerly known as Quality Forward). For details, visit earthdayasheville.org or Click Here>

*TAKE A HIKE in the Asheville area on Earth Day -- and every day | Download an excellent walking guide to Asheville and Buncombe County: Click Here>

WINDSPIRE: Offered by Blue Sun Renewable * Image: Mariah Power

*BLUE SUN RENEWABLE ENERGY is scheduled to speak about wind energy on April 24 | This information will be provided at Asheville Green Drinks, held at Bobo Gallery in Downtown Asheville on Fri., April 24, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. | For details at ashevillegreendrinks.com, Click Here> | For directions to Bobo, visit bobogallery.com or Click Here>

*SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009, EARTH DAY CELEBRATION ON THE COMMONS held on the grounds of All-Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village | Free public celebration from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Fun for the kids, too. | For details, Click Here>

A BARREL OF LAUGHS ... AND A LITTLE WORK, TOO: RiverLink's ongoing Rain Barrel Construction Workshops -- the next one is on Earth Day from 10 a.m. to noon and includes creatively decorating the barrels  -- will teach the public how to build their own rain barrels to take home or to work. Cost: Only $60; participants construct and take home a 55-gallon recycled plastic barrel fit with spigot fixtures and screen to filter out leaves. * Image: RiverLink

*BUILD A RAIN BARREL and get creative, too | On Earth Day, April 22, 2009, RiverLink is looking for volunteers with creative and artistic imaginations to paint and otherwise decorate rain barrels. Writes RiverLink: "We all know that conserving water and harvesting the rain from your roof are good for the environment, but with your help, we can make water catchment beautiful too! Rain barrels are a great way to capture and reuse rainwater. We will use your uniquely decorated rain barrel as a way to promote water conservation and water quality issues in our region." | For details and directions to the Asheville Outdoor Center, where the workshop will be conducted, Click Here> | For details about the rain barrel construcion workshop on Earth Day, Click Here>

*VISIT A ZOO, NATURE CENTER OR AQUARIUM to celebrate everything wild on Earth Day -- or any other day of the year | For North Carolina listings, Click Here> | For South Carolina listings, Click Here> | For Tennessee listings, Click Here> | For Georgia listings, Click Here>

DEVELOPING STORIES

GRIST.COM WRITES: "SCREW EARTH DAY!!!! You think this is a worldwide love fest? You think this is a bit of kumbaya for your karma? You think you can make up for a lifetime of excess in one day? This isn't about what you do on April 22; this is about what you do every single day. Grist can show you the light and guess what -- it's green."

Grist.com's 'Screw Earth Day' Campaign Rankles Some Environmentalists
*ARE YOU CYNICAL about Earth Day Celebrations? | Grist.com keeps churning its grist mill of its "Screw Earth Day" campaign and controversy it created with its recent press release that tells why it wants to shake-up the 39-year-old Earth Day event. | For Grist.org's April 20, 2009, news release, Click Here>