Earth Day Caravan
From Alianza
Saturday, April 22 2006
In celebration of Earth Day, three earth-friendly, low emission buses filled with community leaders, activists, artists/celebrities, and elected officials visited four sites, uniting with each respective community in support of their efforts to clean and green their environment. Students from urban Los Angeles also participated in the Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra, expressing their “good will and solidarity” with their neighbors by participating in planting ceremonies and clean-up activities.
The first stop of the Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra was Mac Arthur Park in metropolitan Los Angeles where community activist celebrated their first Earth Day by conducting activities that draw attention to the community health/environmental needs of this community.
At MacArthur Park, the Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra was joined by a bus carrying the Anahuak Youth Soccer Association from Taylor Yards, after they concluded a clean-up at the Los Angeles River earlier in the morning.
The Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra next traveled to Ford Park where the City of Bell Gardens was hosting its second annual Earth Day Festival. This site was selected because of the recent efforts in establishing a new Commission on the Environment of the City of Bell Gardens.
The Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra tour culminated at the “under construction” Chiparaki Cultural Center across the street from the Los Angeles State Historic Park where the annual Eco-Maya Earth Day celebration took place. Chiparaki Cultural Center, located in the second oldest industrial building of down town Los Angeles, will be the back-drop of a special live radio broadcast of “Strategy Session” hosted by Antonio Gonzalez on KPFK radio (90.7 FM).
The goal of the Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra was to raise awareness within the Latino community on the importance of protecting the environment. It also supported events performing important tasks such as park clean-ups and environmental education. The Earth Caravan/Caravana de la Tierra units communities from Los Angeles County participating in Earth Day events specifically youth from different neighborhoods are brought together in an attempt to promote understanding and solidarity among them.