Are you a nature lover? Friend of the earth? Outright tree-hugger? Or do you simply care about living a more sustainable lifestyle that is good for the environment…including all the people?

If so, Baltimore has a week for you. Beginning this Saturday, the city is celebrating Baltimore Green Week. This is the fifth year for the week-long program that is volunteer-driven to increase awareness about how local residents can make the Baltimore region cleaner and environmentally safer. There are community events, hands-on activities, forums, and lectures throughout the city, including Baltimore’s premier green event - EcoFestival.

On Saturday, April 26, from 9am to 11am, Baltimore City residents can start by picking up a free tree to plant in their front or back yard. That 2008 Arbor Day FREE Tree Giveaway at the Mansion House in Druid Hill Park is the perfect start to an eco-conscious day.

Then, from 11 am to 5 pm also on Saturday, April 26, you can find fun family events and resources that promote sustainable living. EcoFestival is held in Druid Hill Park near the Reservoir. You can get there by light rail to the Woodberry stop, bus lines and Jones Falls trail. Click here for directions. If you plan to drive, park at the Woodberry light rail and take one of the shuttles because there's very limited parking at the event site.

The EcoFestival is free, and will have something for just about everyone. There will be:

• Workshops
• Demonstrations
• Over 100 vendors with sustainable products
• Lots of healthy (good!) food
  
• Music by Caleb Stine and the Brakemen
  
• Art crafted from recycled materials
  

The Irvine Nature Center and the Carrie Murray Nature Center will have exhibits and a live animal or two for the Children in Nature Area planned just for EcoKids. There will be a Wellness Area, a guided half-hour nature hike, free bike rides around the reservoir, and a chance to sign up for EcoTours later in the week. (Of course, the EcoFestival is outdoors, so in case of rain it will all happen on Sunday, but as of now Saturday looks to be warm with only a chance of rain.)

Following EcoFestival, Baltimore Green Week has events scheduled through Thursday, May 1. You can take the Tour de Trash on the US Coast Guard Cutter Taney, hear Mayor Sheila Dixon's presentation of her vision and action plan for cleaner, greener Baltimore, visit with a Green Gathering on the advantages of buying locally grown and produced food, and join a green building tour of the Stewart’s Building which is the headquarters for the Catholic Relief Services. The building received the first LEED certification in Baltimore City.

Visit the Baltimore Green Week website to read more about these and other programs. There are printable flyers to keep as reminders. And after you've been to the EcoFestival, and attended some of the other events, wrap up Green Week at Morgan State University on May 1. There you will hear Van Jones, one of today’s leading voices in helping to create jobs for low income and inner city communities through the Green Industrial Revolution.

We celebrate Earth Day once a year, but we live on this fragile planet every day of the year. Here's a great opportunity to learn more about being green.

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