2026 Earth Month Events
Join the City of Mercer Island in celebrating Earth Month by attending our upcoming Earth Month events!
Upcoming Earth Month Events!
April 4th | Volunteer Event in Gallagher Hill Open Space
Celebrate Earth Month through Volunteering in your Local Park!
Gallagher Hill Open Space is a beautiful park with old trees, a thriving stream, and plenty of native plant and animal life. A lot of the park is unfortunately being overgrown with blackberry and ivy, threating the health of this vital ecosystem. Situated above the freeway Gallagher Hill is an important respite of nature that is well worth protecting. Come join us for a park clean-up where we will be removing ivy. It will be a great chance to get your hands in the dirt, learn about native plants and our local forests, and work alongside neighbors and friends!
No experience necessary and all ages welcome; gloves and tools are provided. Please note: we require participants aged 14 and under to volunteer with a parent or guardian at a ratio of 1 adult to 3 kids.
- When: Saturday, April 4th, 10am-1pm
- Where: Gallagher Hill Open Space off of Shorewood Dr, follow VOLUNTEER EVENT Signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring a water bottle. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/KMTKY
__________________________________
April 7th | Mindfulness Walk in Pioneer Park
Taking inspiration from the Japanese idea of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), we will be hosting a series of mindfulness walks in Pioneer Park. Mindfulness walking in the forest has shown to have a myriad of benefits from improving heart health to reducing stress.
Forest Steward Marilyn Cornwell will be leading an hour-long guided walk through the park. Please join us if your curious about mindfulness, want to learn more about and experience healing powers of being in nature, and/or if you want to deepen your connection with Pioneer Park and others.
- When: Tuesday, April 7th, 11am-12pm
- Where: Pioneer Park NW, Meet at the corner of Island Crest Way and SE 68th St. Follow VOLUNTEER EVENT Signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes and shoes you will comfortable walking and standing in, as well as water.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/9XTJA
__________________________________
April 9th | Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Event
Calling all native plant lovers! We’re looking for volunteers to join us every first Thursday of each month to help us care for the plants in our native plant nursery. Every year we host a couple thousand native plants in the nursery until they’re ready to be put in the ground in parks across the island.
This will be a great opportunity to learn more about native plants, learn about basic plant care, and help us ensure our plants healthy before being put in their new homes.
Tasks may include: weeding potted plants, up-potting or re-potting native plants, plant organizing, plant propagation, weeding gravel areas, tool care, nursery pot maintenance, and watering.
- When: Thursday, 12pm-2pm (join us on your lunch break!)
- Where: Luther Burbank Park, Caretakers building
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring water. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/B4AFB
__________________________________
April 11th | Paint Recycling Event
Join us for a fun and eco-friendly event where you can safely dispose of your unwanted paint! We will be accepting all "architectural" latex to oil-based paints (use—essentially, things you’d use to paint or seal a house). A team of experts will be on hand to guide you through the process and ensure everything is properly recycled.
Find more information (including what will and will not be be accepted), here.
- When: Saturday, 9am-3pm
- Where: Mercer Island City Hall
- Register here
__________________________________
April 11th | Volunteer Event at Ellis Pond
Join us at Ellis Pond Park for a Forest-Steward led weeding and clean-up event for Earth Month. Removing certain plants will help build even more wildlife habitat in this small neighborhood park teeming with birds and other woodland creatures. We will remove weeds like English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and English holly to help protect native plants and forest health. Come join friends and neighbors in this fun Saturday event.
No experience necessary; gloves and tools are provided. Participation is limited, so please register.
Please note: we require participants aged 14 and under to volunteer with a parent or guardian at a ratio of 1 adult to 3 kids.
- When: Saturday, April 11th, 9:30am-11:30pm
- Where: Ellis Pond Park (meet at the bench next to the boardwalk on 90th Ave SE)
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring a water bottle. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided. And a snack or dish to share.
- Registration: volunteersignup.org/Y8XQX
__________________________________
April 14th | Stormwater Stewardship at Pioneer Park
The City of Mercer Island’s Stormwater and Natural Resources’ departments are starting a new program to improve and beautify ditches around city parks. Ditches are important features because they help transport water away from roadways and mitigate flooding. But debris and overgrown vegetation can prevent ditches from providing these essential services.
For the program’s first event, volunteers will help remove non-native plants and scrape designated ditches near Pioneer Park. Eventually, in the fall, we will install pollinator-friendly plants that also effectively filter stormwater before flowing into Lake Washington. This event DOES count towards Natural Resources’ volunteer bingo!
Tasks at this event may include weeding ditches, transplanting native plants growing in the ditches, and scraping other grasses and weeds away with grubbing tools.
- When: Tuesday, April 14 – 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
- Where: Pioneer Park SE, Meet at the corner of Island Crest Way and SE 68th St. Follow VOLUNTEER EVENT signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring water. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/MDYWM
__________________________________
April 15th | Join the Gallagher Hill Garden Club
Join the Gallagher Hill Garden Club! These relaxed events are a great fit for gardeners, native plant lovers, and novices alike. Tasks will include weeding, caring for planting beds, and helping us make the garden a welcoming community space for all to enjoy. We hope to see you there!
Tasks may include: Maintaining garden beds (micro weeding, plant propagation), maintaining garden paths (removing grass, adding mulch or gravel), spreading mulch, propagating plants and help expand native plant coverage, plant pruning, watering, and trash removal.
All ages welcome, and no experience necessary! Gloves, tools, water, and small snacks provided.
- When: Wednesday, April 15th, 1-3pm
- Where: Gallagher Hill Habitat Garden
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring water. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/4PTLD
__________________________________
April 16th | Learn about Nature Journaling at Pioneer Park
Nature Journaling in Pioneer Park
It’s Earth Month! And to celebrate we’re hosting the first of our seasonal Nature Journaling educational events. We will be exploring Pioneer Park with notebooks and pens making observations about what we see. Participants will get instructions on how to begin nature journaling as well as a series of prompts to help guide your observations.
What is nature journaling? It is a practice in which you observe nature and spend some time crafting notes whether that’s words, drawings, painting, quantitative data, etc.
All ages welcome, no experience necessary.
- When: Thursday, April 16th, 10am-12pm
- Where: Pioneer Park NW, Meet at the corner of Island Crest Way and SE 68th St. Follow VOLUNTEER EVENT Signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in comfortable clothes. Please bring a notebook, and pens/pencils/water colors/crayons/etc
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/J7KYK
__________________________________
April 18th | Volunteer Event at Homestead Field
Join us in Homestead Park where we will be removing common ivy and blackberry crowding native plants. This will be a great opportunity to learn the basics of restoration and plant identification, all while making our local forests healthier. Come get your hands in the dirt, work alongside neighbors and friends, and eat snacks!
No experience necessary all ages welcome; gloves and tools are provided. Please note: we require participants aged 14 and under to volunteer with a parent or guardian at a ratio of 1 adult to 3 kids.
- When: Saturday, April 18th, 10am-1pm
- Where: Homestead Field, follow VOLUNTEER EVENT signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring a water bottle. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/RMPYL
__________________________________
April 21st | Plant ID Walk in Pioneer Park
Spring is in bloom, and we’re exited to go explore Pioneer Park looking for our native flowers. Join us we walk through the northeast quadrant, identifying native plants, sharing plant identification tips, and sharing about the different roles plants play in maintain healthy ecosystems.
All ages welcome, no experience necessary.
- When: Tuesday, April 21st, 1-3pm
- Where: Pioneer Park NE, Meet at the corner of Island Crest Way and SE 68th St. Follow VOLUNTEER EVENT Signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you’re comfortable walking in. You might want to bring a note book for notetaking, or a camera to take pictures of the flowers!
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/J7KYK
__________________________________
April 22nd | Find the Art in E(ART)H Day
To celebrate Earth Day, we’re hosting a fun weeding and art making class! Join us while we walk through the park teaching participants how to identify and remove common weeds. Once we’ve strolled through the park, we’ll spend the remainder of the event crafting with the weeds we removed.
If you’re interested in nature crafting, finding ways to make weeding fun, and being creative in the garden, then this is the event for you! No experience necessary, we will provide all the tools and instructions.
- When: Wednesday, April 22nd, 1-3pm
- Where: Clarke Beach Park, meet in the parking lot
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you’re comfortable walking in, and don’t mind getting dirty in.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/7CADJ
__________________________________
April 23rd | Sustainable Fashion Show
Sustainable Style Hits the Runway! In partnership with the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce. Join us for the Chamber’s First Sustainable Fashion Show—where style meets purpose. Featuring Mercer Island's own thrift store and local consignment boutiques, eco-friendly accessories, and fashion-forward products that support sustainability.
- When: Wednesday, April 23rd, 11am-1pm
- Where: Mercer Island Community and Events Center
- Registration here
__________________________________
April 23rd | Energy Smart Eastside Heat Pump Workshop
Curious about heat pumps? Looking to reduce your carbon footprint and beat the heat this summer? Join Energy Smart Eastside this Earth Week for an in-person interactive workshop to learn how heat pumps work, what benefits they offer for home comfort and energy efficiency, and which rebates and incentives you can take advantage of to get the best deal!
- When: Thursday, April 23rd 5:30-6:30pm
- Where: Mercer Island Community & Event Center, 8236 SE 24th St, Mercer Island, WA 98040
- Click here to register!
__________________________________
April 25th | Volunteer at Wildwood Park
Join for a Forest Steward led clean up event in the Wildwood Park! Volunteers will be working to remove weeds and spreading mulch. Get your hands in the dirt, work alongside neighbors and friends! No experience necessary; gloves and tools are provided.
- When: Saturday, April 25th, 9am-11am
- Where: Wildwood Park, Meet at the Picnic Table
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring water. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
__________________________________
April 25th | Learn about Noxious Weeds with Mercer Island Natural Resoureces Team and King County
King County Noxious Weed Identification Walk!
Interested in improving the habitat value on your property and managing weeds using the least toxic effective methods available. You’re in luck! Mercer Island Natural Resources Team is partnering with King County Noxious Weeds to teach residents all about noxious weed identification and management. At this workshop we will teach folks how to identify high priority weeds, along with other common weeds in the area. We will spend some time reviewing the use of iNaturalist to help with identification, and go over some weed removal tips
- When: Saturday, April 25th, 10am-12pm
- Where: Mercer Island Community and Events Center, Room 102
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (think: long pants, boots or sneakers). Bring water. Small snacks, gloves, and tools will be provided.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/DYWJ3
__________________________________
April 30th | Close out Earth Month with a Mindfulness Walk in Pioneer Park
Celebrate Earth Month with a relaxing Mindfulness Walk
Taking inspiration from the Japanese idea of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), we will be hosting a series of mindfulness walks in Pioneer Park. Mindfulness walking in the forest has shown to have a myriad of benefits from improving heart health to reducing stress.
Forest Steward Marilyn Cornwell will be leading an hour-long guided walk through the park. Please join us if your curious about mindfulness, want to learn more about and experience healing powers of being in nature, and/or if you want to deepen your connection with Pioneer Park and others.
- When: Thursday, April 30th, 11am-12pm
- Where: Pioneer Park SE, Meet at the corner of Island Crest Way and SE 68th St. Follow VOLUNTEER EVENT Signs
- What to bring: Dress for the weather in clothes and shoes you will comfortable walking and standing in, as well as water.
- Registration: https://volunteersignup.org/9XTJA
__________________________________
