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Laurel's EcoFest 2022! FREE and open to the public!

Young people and families who are passionate about protecting the environment are invited to Laurel School’s first EcoFest!
Laurel School Hosts First-Ever EcoFest at Butler Campus;
Highlights Environmental Justice Semester Launching in Fall 2023


Audubon Medal-Winning Author Richard Louv to Present along with Entertainment from Recess Cleveland and UpCycle Parts Shop, Guided Hikes, Entertainment, Food & more

SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH – (October 12, 2022) Laurel School is excited to announce it will host the first-ever EcoFest on October 22, 2022 between 1:00 - 5:00 PM at Laurel’s Butler Campus in Russell Township. This free, environmentally conscious event will feature interactive family activities and a variety of green exhibitors meant to inspire generations of environmental stewards. 

“EcoFest was developed with education and hope for our planet in mind,” said Angela Yeager, Director of Laurel’s Environmental Justice Semester. “Our goal is to create a hopeful space where people who care about the environment can see the great work already going on within our community. EcoFest is all about sustainability, community, action and justice, and a great opportunity to network with other organizations doing sustainable work in the industry.”

Laurel is committed to environmental education and sustainability, which makes the 150-acre Butler Campus the perfect place to welcome more than 25 partners and vendors who are also focused on sustainability and working together to create environmental change. In addition to guided hikes, nature play, a student symposium, food trucks and entertainment, Laurel will welcome Richard Louv, audubon Medal-winning author of Last Child in the Woods, who will join us virtually for his talk Planet Hope: Staying hopeful while taking action for the planet. 

At EcoFest, Laurel will also share details of its NEW Environmental Justice Semester, a 15-week immersive, academic semester program open to Tenth and Eleventh Grade girls from all over Northeast Ohio that will take place on the Butler Campus and in the city of Cleveland. The Campus offers a natural space with terrestrial, aquatic, and agricultural ecosystems for student changemakers to devise solutions for the ecological and social challenges facing urban Cleveland, a rustbelt city grappling with many environmental and social justice issues. Applications open in October for the Fall 2023 semester.

“Laurel has long imagined Butler as a place to inspire a love for the outdoors and create changemakers who want to go into the world to make a difference,” said Ann V. Klotz, Laurel’s Head of School. “Launching EcoFest on our Butler Campus connects our students with local community organizations committed to bringing about real change. We hope this will be the first of many future events and opportunities Laurel will offer aligned around sustainability, equity and environmental stewardship.”

EcoFest is free and open to the public. Limited free parking will be available at the Butler Campus. Free parking and shuttle buses will run between Westwood Elementary at 13738 Caves Road in Novelty. To register for the event, visit bit.ly/EcoFestTickets.

Attendees will enjoy entertainment from Recess Cleveland and UpCycle Parts Shop. Food vendors include Metro 45, Squash the Beef, Smooth Rider, Perfectly Imperfectly Produce, Humble Morning Coffee Company, Truly Rooted Juicery, CLE Cotton Candy, and Hive Works Honey Company. Exhibits from local organizations working for a more sustainable and ethical world include Alliance for the Great Lakes, Black Environmental Leaders, CLE Tree Revival, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Concerned Citizens Organized Against Lead, Doan Brook Watershed Partnership, Drink Local Drink Tap, Healing Spaces, Holden Arboretum, MedWish, Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, Ohio Environmental Council, Organic Connects, RedHouse, Swetland Center for Environmental Health, Trust for Public Land, United Way of Greater Cleveland, and Western Reserve Land Conservancy. For more information, including a schedule of events, visit www.LaurelSchool.org/EcoFest

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