The Environmental Center offers a week packed with film screenings, gardening and more The Environmental Center s annual Earth Day Fair & Parade is once again canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that has not slowed all plans. Instead of its traditional event, the local nonprofit has planned several smaller events throughout the entire week. The annual parade that features costumed locals dressed as plants, animals and even mythical creatures will live on virtually. People are invited to create costumes and submit your photos to be included in a video released after April 25. In addition to the virtual parade, The Environmental Center is also bringing back the Earth Day GooseChase scavenger hunt. This year s event started on April 16, but participants have until April 25 to complete all the challenges. The top six participants will earn a local outdoor experience, including mountain bike rentals or a guided rock-climbing trip.
As spring rears its temperamental head via finicky post-equinox, high-desert indecision, green thumbs are beginning to feel an irresistible itch. At first glance, newcomers to Bend might think cultivating in nutrient-poor volcanic soils, amid the shortest summer a Californian has ever seen, is all in vain. But to the trained gardener s discerning eye, there is many a lush oasis tucked behind gates and in corner downtown lots to prove otherwise. Denise Rowcroft Part of the The Environmental Center s Kansas Avenue Learning Garden. Whether you want to gather inspiration in creating your own green space or you want to just pass by an inspirational postage-stamp community flower plot, these are a few low-key secret gardens to know about.