OUR GEM: April stewardship opportunities
Past Library Earth Day. Photo courtesy of Jim Ekins Area Water Educator, University of Idaho Extension.
While April 20 marks Earth Day, the mission of The Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative encourages us all to practice stewardship every day. Here are some ways to get involved this April and contribute to the care of our Earth.
Coeur d’Green Giveaway
The city of Coeur d'Alene's eighth annual free “Coeur d'Green” compost weekend is scheduled April 12 and 13 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 3500 N. Julia St.
Bring your own shovels, buckets, trucks and trailers, and take home compost for a head start on the growing season. Piles will be inside on the fence line.
In 1990, the city constructed the region’s first composting facility for municipal biosolids. Located at 3500 Julia St., the 18-acre facility is staffed by two compost operators. An annual average of 18,000 wet pounds per day, 365 days per year, of biosolids are processed during the 51-day journey through the plant. The compost is then ready for wholesale purchase. Coeur d'Green is a class "A" Exceptional Quality compost and has no application restrictions.
Coeur d’Alene Library Earth Day celebration
The Coeur d’Alene Public Library invites the public to join them on Saturday, April 19, from 10 am to 2 pm for their annual Earth Day celebration! This year's theme, "Our Power, Our Planet," emphasizes the global commitment to renewable energy sources like solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and tidal energy, with the goal of tripling the world's renewable energy generation by 2030.
Enjoy a day filled with entertainment, educational booths and craft activities. Discover a mix of city, county, state and regional organizations and nonprofits dedicated to protecting our streams, lakes and rivers, preserving fragile ecosystems and raising awareness about environmental conservation.
• 8:30 and 9:30 a.m.: Earth Day Morning Bird Walk (Ages 13+) with CDA Audubon Society
• 10 a.m.: Earth Day Family Storytime — Songs, Stories and Crafts
• 11 a.m.: Earth Day with the Symphony: A Children’s Program (3+yo)– An Earth Day-Themed Musical Adventure
• Noon-12:15 p.m.: Sorensen World Drummers
• 12:20-12:45 p.m.: Sorensen S.T.E.P. Dancers and Ripple Dance Company
• 1-2 p.m.: Coeurimba Performance — High-Energy Marimba Music from Zimbabwe
Exhibitors and activities will include interactive ecosystem displays, recycled crafts, games, tree planting and more! The event will take place in the Community Room and outside on the park side of the library.
Show your love for our planet and join us for a fun and educational day!
2025 Spokane River Forum Conference
On April 22 and 23, the 2025 Spokane River Forum Conference will bring a broad range of people working together for our community and our river.
Begun in 2009, the conference is a bi-state regional event focused on the Spokane River watershed, offering unique opportunities to share information and reach out to the public on water quality, water resources, fisheries, river access and other key issues. It has a well-earned reputation of being a go-to event for networking and stimulating increased collaboration to promote a healthy river and aquifer in support of our community’s cultural and economic future.
The forum expects 250 to 300 attendees from a cross section of tribal and agency leaders, policy makers, natural resource managers, utilities, elected officials, business and industry leaders, environmental non-profits, university professors and students and interested citizens. For more information and registration details, please visit www.spokaneriver.net/conf.
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The Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative is a team of committed and passionate professionals working to preserve lake health and protect water quality by promoting community awareness of local water resources through education, outreach and stewardship. Our Gem includes local experts from the University of Idaho - Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Kootenai Environmental Alliance, Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce and Kootenai County.