The arrival of spring brings with it our community celebration of our Earth and our place in it.

Arlington's special outdoor spaces are at the center of this month's activities. On April 20, the Arlington Reservoir Committee will host an annual Garlic Mustard Pull. Garlic mustard is an invasive species of plant that can take over our wooded areas. Volunteers, including Arlington's very own invasive weed removal group called ArMI, are helping educate about this nuisance plant. Come learn more and be outdoors with your neighbors.

Also April 20 is a Stroll & Pull event at the Symmes Woods on Summer Street.

Then the weekend of April 27 and 28 there are park clean ups at Spy Pond Park and Crusher Lot. If your local park is sponsoring a cleanup this year, please email us and we can post it on the EcoFest calendar.

Local arts are also celebrated during EcoFest. Planting With Puppets takes place at the Fox Library on Saturday, April 27 at 3:30 PM, which includes a puppet performance by Margaret Moody and a hands on gardening activity with LexFarm.

Public artist Michelle Lougee is back in town, this time engaging us all with her project called Entangled. There will be multiple chances to contribute to a new art project highlighting the dangers of plastics in our environment, including at the Arlington High School EcoFair on May 10, which is open to the whole community and will feature live student bands and interactive crafts for all ages. 

And if biking is your thing, there's a Bike Arlington Tour on May 19. Have extra bikes you're no longer using? How about donating them at the Bike Donation Bonanza on May 4, hosted by the Arlington Scouts, Arlington DPW's Reuse & Recycling Center, and The Bike Connector, which will find new homes for all the donated bikes.

We need more Electricty! May 2 at 6:30 PM in the Robbins Library Community room is the Electrify Arlington Fair. Come talk with volunteer coaches about air-source and ground-source heat pumps. You can also learn about solar panels, opt up to 100% renewable electricity, or sign up for a home energy assessment. Low and moderate income households – come learn about the money-saving programs available to you.

And much, much more, check out the EcoFest webpage for full details, and we'll see you outside this spring!