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How to Celebrate Earth Day 2026 in Madison

Posted on April 13   |   Updated on June 4
Rob Thomas

Rob Thomas

A man in a plaid shirt peruses a rack of clothes.

Overture Center is sponsoring its first-ever Community Clothing Swap on April 18. (Overture Center)

One single act by itself won’t save the world. One single person on their own won’t save the world. But the message of Earth Day on April 22 is that a lot of people all doing little things to preserve and beautify the planet can achieve big results.

Earth Day has its roots in Wisconsin – U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson founded it in 1970 as a national day to promote environmentalism, and it went global in 1990. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin talks to Curt Meine, a senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, about Wisconsin's conservationist tradition.

There are all kinds of family-friendly, thoughtful, and fun ways to celebrate Earth Day and support environmental causes in Madison this week.

Given Earth Day’s Wisconsin roots, UW-Madison goes big for Earth Day with this weeklong series of events. This year’s festivities includes a Climate Games Day on April 17, a Make Your Own Bee House crafting activity on April 19, a two-day symposium by the Center for Ecology and the Environment on April 20 and 21, and a Climate Change Theatre Action performance on April 23.

There’s also a special Earth Fest Forum on April 21, featuring a keynote address by Isaias Hernandez, an environmentalist and educator best known online by the moniker Queer Brown Vegan.

For the first time, Overture Center is sponsoring a massive clothing swap on April 18. Bring your gently used clothing to the Rotunda lobby to donate this week, then come back Saturday to find new fashions to enjoy.

At the April 18 event, DaneNET will also be accepting donations of electronics that they can refurbish and donate to nonprofits and low-income households.

Get rid of your computers, peripherals and other tech safely at this event sponsored by Hilldale and Goodwill on April 18.

Sign up to volunteer to help clean up Dunn’s Marsh, Swan Creek, and other open spaces in Fitchburg on April 18.

Arts and science meet in this special concert on April 20, where meteorologists and musicians join forces to use climate data to create musical pieces.

Madison Parks is looking for 900 volunteers to clean up over 60 of its parks on April 25. Register online and see where volunteers are needed most, then head out with your neighbors to help keep Madison beautiful.

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