Ain't no party like an Earth Day party

Get your hands dirty with Earth Day now: Five ways to green it up & eco party

Why wait to celebrate Earth Day until Saturday? Start now!
Houston's official Earth Day celebration will be held on Saturday at DiscoveryGreen, but there's plenty to do until then.

It's about gaining a heightened understanding of the earth's fragility. Appreciating our beautiful planet for what it is, not what we want it to be.

We all know it's highly suggested that we ride our bikes and wear our eco-friendly whites to observe Earth Day, but going beyond that, what does the day truly mean? Heading out to the backyard to play with the worms and soil your hands?

Not exactly. But there are a few notable things you can do to celebrate Earth Day like the responsible urbanite that you are.

Turn out the light

Yes, you heard us right. Follow the lead of prominent downtown businesses — 150 million square feet of office space — by flipping the switch to the Off position on Thursday night for LightsOut Houston.

Security lighting, obstruction lighting and emergency lighting will be the only illumination you'll see in Class A, B, and C office buildings downtown and all government-owned buildings this evening.

Why? To show you how much electricity we really do waste after quittin' time — and how a little bit of darkness doesn't hurt anyone.

Lights out at 10 p.m.

Befriend a trash can

And fill it with its favorite things — garbage!

You don't have to go all over town with a trash grabber and bag, mind you, unless you're so inclined. But let the kids at Reagan High School inspire you. They're assisting janitors for the day on Thursday to help manage the trash situation around their campus.

Now imagine you're the waste disposal hero at your office. We see a glittering, silver trash can crown with your name on it in your near future.

Run for your life

Or, rather, for the Memorial Park Conservancy.

Ruggles Green is sponsoring an earth-friendly jaunt through west Houston's CityCentre, the Green 6.2 race, on Saturday at 8 a.m.

Proceeds from the event will benefit our city's prime outdoor space and surrounding environs.

Doing good for you and the environment just became a win-win.

Invest in our future

Whitney Houston once expressed the belief that the children are our future. If you couldn't agree more, take yours (or a borrowed set) to the Children's Museum to get 'em reducing, reusing and recycling while they're young.

Now through Sunday, the kiddos will have the opportunity to celebrate the planet with exciting hands-on activities and workshops at the museum's Earth Day Bash.

With special presentations by the American Chemical Society, Arbor Day Foundation, Houston Audubon Society and the Environmental Protection Agency, it's practically a cinch to put the seedling for smart consumption in their heads early.

Party like it's Earth Day

Maybe not Earth Day itself, of course. Houston's official Earth Day shindig kicks off on Saturday (the day after the official Earth Day) and runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at — where else? — Discovery Green. It'll be the first big bonanza at Discovery Green after the Big Dance Concert Series, except entirely eco-centric.

From the Environmental Education Zone, recycled art activities, a Green Expo, an Eco Landscaping Zone, the Kids Energy Zone and all zones in between, you'll want to party for the ozone until the hole is history.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”