DNR will to annual Earth Day celebration April 21

After pausing for three years during the pandemic, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will resume its annual Earth Day celebration. The 2023 event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 21, 2023, on the south lawn of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. This will be the first year for Earth Day activities to be held at the Capitol since 2016, when an extensive repair and cleaning project began on the building’s exterior.

More than 1,500 children from schools across Missouri are expected to visit Jefferson City for the 2023 Earth Day celebration. The students will have opportunities to engage in a wide variety of games and other fun activities designed to help them learn about and celebrate the natural environment. The public is also welcome to participate in the free event.

Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Earth Day celebration will feature more than 20 booths, interactive environmental displays, crafts and entertainment.

Honored during the celebration will be Harlee Tanner, a fifth-grade student from Rolla Middle School, who won the department’s Earth Day slogan contest with the entry: “Join the race to make the world a better place.” Harlee was among more than 260 Missouri fifth graders from 21 schools who entered the annual slogan contest.

Harlee will receive a $50 gift card donated by Central Bank in Jefferson City and a Missouri rock and mineral set donated by Missouri Geological Survey. Harlee will receive the certificate and prizes during a special presentation on the Earth Day stage.

To access a schedule and more information about the Earth Day celebration, go to dnr.mo.gov/earth-day.