Community Events
Community Events
Friday, April 5 - Sunday, April 14
Princeton Environmental Film Festival
Princeton Public Library
Friday, April 5 - Sunday, April 14, various times
Event Description
The Princeton Environmental Film Festival is a signature event of Princeton Public Library held annually at the Sands Library Building, 65 Witherspoon St., Princeton. The festival also includes virtual screenings and special events scheduled periodically throughout the year.
Founded in 2006, the festival’s mission is to share exceptional documentary films and to engage the community in exploring environmental sustainability from a wide range of perspectives.
Screenings are free and are often accompanied by a Q&A with film directors and producers and talks by invited speakers. The festival also presents related events with community partners to provide opportunities to participate in sustainable actions and initiatives year-round.
Saturday, April 12
Award-winning author of Beaverland, Leila Philip
The Watershed Institute
Friday, April 12, 6 - 7:30 pm
Event Description
A New York Times bestseller, Beaverland is a masterful work of narrative science writing. Through history and contemporary storytelling, the book explains how this unusual rodent has played an oversized role in American history and continues to feature in its future. Philip follows fur trappers who lead her through waist-high water, fur traders, and fur auctioneers, as well as wildlife managers, PETA activists, Native American environmental vigilantes, scientists, engineers, and the colorful group of activists known as beaver believers.
Books will be available for purchase to be signed by the author after her talk. Light refreshments will be served.
The event is free.
Saturday, April 13
Hopewell Township Clean Sweep Day
Hopewell Public Works Department
Saturday, April 13, 9 am - 1 pm, at various locations
Event Description
Each year community members gather to beautify our area by collecting the garbage that has accumulated throughout the Township. It’s a great day for the Township and non-profits to take pride in our town by coming together to help clean it up. As a bonus, organizations can earn money for their time!
Hopewell Township Clean Sweep is part of the New Jersey Clean Communities program, which was started in 1986 with the passage of the Clean Community Act. It is grant-funded and promotes litter cleanup throughout the state. Protective gear is provided, and participants earn an hourly wage for their organizations. It’s a great way to get involved in your neighborhood and learn about litter abatement.
YES Club and HVCHS Students register here
18th Annual Stream Cleanups
The Watershed Institute
Saturday, April 13, 9 am - 11 am, at various locations
Event Description
Volunteer your time in one (or more!) of the 13 municipalities where community members will help remove trash from areas around local streams. Over the past decade, 8,700 enthusiastic volunteers have removed more than 152,000 pounds of trash from our communities.
Our cleanup events are a great way to get outside, work together to keep our waterways clean, and improve wildlife habitat.
Spring Beekeeping and Gardening
Howell Living History Farm
Saturday, April 13, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Spring is a busy time for bees and beekeepers alike, and today you’ll learn about what makes a healthy hive. Meet our honeybees, peek inside their hive, and find out what they do for us around the farm and in the gardens.
At 11:00, weather permitting, Howell Farm beekeeper Johanna Swartzentruber will open the hives and check the health of the colony by looking at the bees and their work on the comb. A 45-minute presentation about “Life in a Honeybee Colony” will begin at 2:00.
Children's Craft, Bee Home (11:00–3:00)
Boys & Girls Clubs of Mercer County Bike Exchange
Historic Hunt House
Saturday, April 13, noon - 4:00 pm
Do you have a bike that you no longer use? Maybe you have one your child has outgrown? Consider donating it for a good cause.
The Mercer County Planning Department and the Mercer County Park Commission are hosting a bike drive for the benefit of the Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange. This non-profit run by 50 volunteers collects, conditions, and sells used, quality bikes to people in the Trenton area.
Climate Action Gathering
Rutgers Labor Education Center
Saturday, April 13, 10 am - 5:00 pm
The climate emergency is heating up in New Jersey, but so is the movement fighting for a future where everyone can thrive! That’s why we’re so excited to invite you to the first NJ Climate Action Gathering to connect with the state’s leading climate and environmental justice organizers and activists about their work to win bold solutions for a just transition off fossil fuels. The Gathering is the place to build new relationships, share skills and knowledge, and step into action!
Saturday, April 20
18th Annual Stream Cleanups
The Watershed Institute
Saturday, April 20 from 9 am - 11 am, at various locations
Event Description
Volunteer your time in one (or more!) of the 13 municipalities where community members will help remove trash from areas around local streams. Over the past decade, 8,700 enthusiastic volunteers have removed more than 152,000 pounds of trash from our communities.
Our cleanup events are a great way to get outside, work together to keep our waterways clean, and improve wildlife habitat.
Potato Planting
Howell Living History Farm
Saturday, April 20, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Visitors of all ages can join workhorses Bill and Jesse to help plant a field of potatoes that will yield over 2,000 pounds of food for local soup kitchens. While farmers drive the horses and steer the plow to open up the rows, helpers will follow behind with baskets of seeds and place them in the furrows. Over the next 4 months, the field will be weeded and hilled by interns and volunteers...before visitors again help to harvest the crop in mid-August.
Children's Craft: Potato Printing (11:00–3:00)
Thursday, April 25 - Saturday, April 27
Spring Native Plant Sales
D&R Greenway Land Trust
Thursday, April 25 noon - 3 pm
Friday, 26, noon - 4 pm
Saturday, April 27, 9 am - noon
Event Description
Stop by the Native Plant Nursery at the Johnson Education Center during the Spring 2024 plant sale to browse the selection of native plants. Talk to our stewardship team and volunteers to learn what plants will thrive in your garden.
Sunday, April 28
NJ Youth Climate Justice & Action Summit
The Watershed Institute
Sunday, April 28, 11 am - 3pm
Optional hike at 3 pm
Event Description
This event is an exciting opportunity for student climate, sustainability, and environmental justice leaders to come together to learn from one another. The day will include sessions on the Sunrise Movement, the NJ Green Amendment, and youth climate litigation. There will also be a roundtable discussion where students can share the work they are doing in their schools and organizations. At 3 pm, students will have the option to participate in a hike and explore the trails of the beautiful Watershed Institute! It is free to attend the summit, and a vegan/vegetarian lunch will be provided.