Toronto residents marking Earth Day with several community events

TORONTO, Ont. – People around the world will be marking Earth Day Monday, with many events also already taking place over the weekend.

Here in Toronto events on Monday include tree planting, electronics donations and more.

Toronto residents already celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up their community, hitting the zoo and planting trees.

Because Earth Day – April 22 – falls on a Monday this year, many of the events took place over the weekend.

Mayor Rob Ford helped clean up Colonel Samuel Smith Park on Saturday as part of the annual Clean Toronto Together Program.

At Todmordren Mills on Sunday, meanwhile, families created environmentally-friendly artwork and explored the site’s wild flowers.

The Toronto Zoo held events on both Saturday and Sunday, where children could speak to recycling experts and learn about polar bears and their environment.

There are some events Monday as well, with the Scarborough Town Centre holding its community cleanup and tree planting. The event will run from 10 a.m. to noon and 40 trees will be planted to mark the mall’s 40th anniversary.

There will also be a tree planting at Downsview Park. Approximately 2,000 trees will be planted and volunteers can sign up on a first-come, first serve basis. Shovels and other tools will be provided.

Do you have any old electronics lying around? For the week of Earth Day, Computation Ltd. will accept old computer equipment free of charge, and will have a tree planted for every major item that’s turned in.

What about old shoes? Town Shoes at Bloor and Bay streets will accept your old kicks to reduce your “fashion” footprint”. The shoes will be donated to charity Dress for Success, which provides interview-appropriate clothing for low-income women. Cash is also accepted.

Earth Day, first celebrated on April 22, 1970, is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement.

Click here for a full list of events.

Click here for City of Toronto events.

What are you doing for Earth Day? Let us know in the comments.