Department of Natural Resources to host annual Earth Day celebration April 19

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources will host its annual Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, April 19. The 2024 event will be held on the south lawn of the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.

Approximately 1,000 children from schools across Missouri are expected to visit Jefferson City for this year’s 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 this free event.

Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Earth Day celebration will feature nearly 30 booths, interactive environmental displays, crafts and entertainment. Honored during the celebration will be Ella Garr, a fifth-grade student from Académie Lafayette in Kansas City, who won the department’s Earth Day slogan contest with her entry, “Protect the Earth, for what it’s worth.” Ella was among more than 150 Missouri fifth graders from 13 schools who entered the annual slogan contest.

Ella 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. Ella will receive her prizes and a copy of Gov. Mike Parson’s Earth Day proclamation 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.