Hey, y’all. It’s Amie.

Celebrate Mother Nature at Earth Day events across Virginia. (Nikola Jovanovic/Unsplash)

By Aila Boyd

Here’s what you need to know: Earth Day serves as an opportunity for communities to come together to raise awareness about the importance of the environment and engage in sustainability efforts. The events highlighted below all occur on Saturday, April 18. 

Our top picks:

• Come appreciate the outdoors, support environmental conservation, and learn how to protect the planet during the Earth Day Festival on the Rappahannock. The family-friendly event features educational activities, musical performances, live animals, and food trucks. The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• The Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation Earth Week 2026 is a week-long celebration meant to raise awareness about environmental issues. The Earth Week Clean Up at Williams Farm Park from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. will bring together community members to remove trash from the park and surrounding areas to ensure the local ecosystem’s health. Registration is encouraged.

• The Science Museum of Virginia is hosting an Earth Day event at the Dewey Gottwald Center from 12 to 5 p.m. The event promises plenty of activities designed to explore sustainability, natural resources, and environmental science. The programming will touch on such topics as watersheds, forestry, native plants, conservation efforts, recycling, bike infrastructure, floodplains, and birds.

Ready to save the world? We’ve got a dozen Earth Day events featured throughout Virginia. 

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of Virginia and US Rep. James Walkinshaw of Northern Virginia rallying in support of the redistricting referendum at an event on April 8, 2026, in Vienna. (Virginians for Fair Elections)

By Michael O’Connor

US Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia’s 11th congressional district recently joined the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) of Virginia in Vienna to rally in support of Virginia’s April 21 redistricting referendum. 

Walkinshaw said President Donald Trump, whose approval rating is below 40%, knows he’s gotten even more unpopular as gas prices rise and the bloody war with Iran costs billions of dollars a day. 

“Because he knows he’s losing, he’s trying to rig the maps,” Walkinshaw said of Trump. “He directed Republicans in Texas, Florida, and other states across the country to redraw their maps because he said he’s entitled to more seats.”

SEIU Virginia told Dogwood it was giving a $500,000 donation to the “Yes” campaign group Virginians for Fair Elections to “ensure that working people in Virginia have the information they need to vote.” 

Colton Knowles holds age-appropriate historical fiction book, “I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011.” (Amie Knowles/Dogwood)

By Amie Knowles

It was a shocker. I went to a bookstore last weekend and left with… absolutely nothing. For myself, that is. My 8-year-old son, Colton, found a jewel. 

Have any of y’all read the “I Survived” book series? It’s a really creative retelling of famous disaster stories, told from the point of view of fictitious child characters. Colton, who’s currently enthralled with tornadoes, picked up “I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011”—an age-appropriate page turner geared toward second through fourth graders. 

Written by Lauren Tarshis, there are dozens of titles currently on the market. There’s one about the Titanic, another about the American Revolution, as well as more current events like the California Wildfires. 

They’re especially good for young readers who like a thrill. If there’s a budding reader in your life, I’m including a link to explore the series below.

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