Gateway Technical College will combine its two annual, environmentally focused events into one large event that will meet in-person as well as online April 17 at its Racine Campus, Kenosha Campus and Elkhorn Campus.

Celebrate Earth Day and EcoFest will be held on the same date this year and will still feature the same fun, informative and hands-on activities for people of all ages.

But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s festival will have a new look and format to it:

• Each campus will host drive-through activities from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Attendees must remain in their vehicles to receive free giveaway and activity items as well as drop off electronics to be recycled.
• There will also be an expo and presentations held online from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We are so excited to be able to offer our popular environmental events in a socially distant and safe way this year,” said Abbie Ford, Gateway manager, community relations and communications. “We know the communities in our tri-county area look forward to connecting with local organizations and learning tips for eco-friendly living at EcoFest and Earth Day.

“Gateway takes great pride in its sustainability initiatives, and we’re proud to offer these opportunities to our community members in a unique way this year when we aren’t able to gather in-person as we usually would.”

All the details on the event can be found at www.gtc.edu/earthday

Campus drive-through

Attendees of the drive-through activities will be asked to remain in their vehicle during the event and will be expected to wear a mask while interacting with event staff. Attendees can:

• pick up free garden kits, tree seedlings, kids activity kits and compost bags.
• drop off electronics for recycling. Televisions and CRT monitors are not accepted. Electronics recycling will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at all three campuses
• donate unopened, unexpired non-perishable food and hygiene items to benefit the Shalom Center in Kenosha, HALO Inc. in Racine and Walworth County Food and Diaper Bank

Online activities

The environmental event will also include an online component – which means this year’s event can be viewed worldwide.

Attendees for the online portion of the event must complete a free registration to attend at:

https://www.accelevents.com/e/GatewayEcofestEarthDay

Those who register will be able to access the online event portal on April 17 to view the live, interactive online expo and presentations. Registered attendees will also be able to come back to the online event portal through May 17 to view exhibitor booths as well as recordings of presentations.

Activities include:

• Virtual workshops on topics such as offsetting the carbon footprint, home compost, home-grown food recipes, seed starting and scheduling spring garden planting.
• Informational presentations on topics such as garden starting, tree care, renewable energy and local recycling initiatives
• Online expo featuring virtual booths for community organizations and local vendors
• Environmentally inspired virtual art exhibit within the online expo.