On Tuesday, April 22, from 2 to 6pm, the Town of Basalt is hosting “Our Power, Our Planet” — an Earth Day celebration — at Basalt River Park. The event will showcase Basalt’s renewable energy initiatives and include giveaways from local organizations, family-friendly crafting and other activities. Starting at 2:30pm, Basalt Elementary School students will parade through town to the park, where attendees can grab a vegan bite and enjoy music by Aspen band 8th St Bus Stop beginning at 4pm.
“We’re thinking about ways people on the ground are generating their own power from the planet, whether that be solar power for electricity or food to make power for ourselves,” said Brent Compton, Basalt’s public arts and community events manager. “We built this event up to look at how other groups are powering themselves from the planet.”
Over 20 vendors will be in attendance to engage community members and inspire sustainable action. Rocky Mountain Institute will present their green building initiatives through facility tours and Mountain Chevrolet will be demoing its fleet of electric vehicles. Locals can learn more about home energy rebates and efficiency inspections at the Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) booth, engage with local farmers — including ACES at Rock Bottom Ranch and Two Roots Farm — and connect with advocacy organizations like Roaring Fork Conservancy. Compton said that the Town will also highlight the last 12 months of energy produced at its five solar fields and information about its popular e-bike rebate program.
Some top-tier giveaways will also be happening. Attendees who bike to the event can enter to win one of 200 ponderosa saplings, or a larger tree, courtesy of Tree City USA and Eagle Crest Nursery. Additionally, Basalt’s Green Team — a citizen board dedicated to creating a more resilient and sustainable community — is partnering with EverGreen ZeroWaste to give away 25 compost bins to promote the Town’s composting program.
“The main goal is education, especially since the next generation of 450 kids are coming,” said Compton. “We want to help people think outside of the box for ways to protect the planet … Having all of these groups and highlighting what they are doing might trigger [some] to think, ‘I can probably make some energy with a blender and bicycle at my own house.’”
A global initiative
The Town of Basalt is joining thousands of communities internationally which are exploring and integrating renewable energy solutions. The theme “Our Power, Our Planet” was spearheaded by EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit dedicated to mobilizing global Earth Day initiatives. Intended to cultivate meaningful action, the theme is twofold as it advocates for tripling global renewable energy by 2030 and using people power to do so — by writing letters to local representatives, signing petitions or pledging to shift personal behaviors.
“Every trend — whether that be economic, health or environmental — pushes toward renewable energy, and the final push toward that is the people power,” said Aidan Charron, EDO’s associate director of Global Earth Day. “The environment doesn’t have a voice … Environmental advocates have to be the ones who protect what we have without going further down the line of massive amounts of [pollution]. We have to be that line of defense.”
Charron added that each community is unique and can best decide how they represent “Our Power, Our Planet.” Whether it be adding solar panels to a public space or creating a community garden, the ultimate hope is to involve anyone willing to make a difference.
“Earth Day can be a celebration, but at the same time it’s this one pivotal day when people recognize the importance of the environment around them. We hope to flourish that,” said Charron. “We try to say Earth Day is every day.”
The impacts of climate change are ever-mounting. In the Roaring Fork Valley, watersheds are at risk, wildfire season is intensifying and local ecology is shifting. By following Basalt’s lead, changes in the right direction can happen.
“We’re hitting this tipping point in the United States where people are realizing that this is affecting [everyone],” said Charron. “We all, as a community, have to come together and say, ‘We can’t do this anymore.’ We have to step up now, and it’s going to take the local community all the way up to the international level.”
People can share photos from Basalt’s “Our Power, Our Planet” Earth Day gathering (April 22) with EARTHDAY.ORG by including hashtags #OurPowerOurPlanet or #EarthDay2025. Visit www.basalt.net/336/Green-Team to learn more about Basalt’s renewable energy initiatives.