Members of CCL Chicago at their 2026 Earth Day stewardship event.

Fun, productive outreach during Earth Month 2026

By Flannery Winchester

Every April, Earth Month brings extra public attention to the issues that are so near and dear to our hearts as climate advocates. That creates lots of opportunities to connect with other concerned people in our communities nationwide, educating them about climate solutions and encouraging them to take action.

In this roundup, we’ll see how CCLers showed up this Earth Month by connecting earnestly with others, fostering light-hearted fun, and rolling up their sleeves to be good stewards of their own backyards.

Connecting with BRIDGE activities 

CCL’s Vice President of Field Operations, Dr. Brett Cease, spearheaded the development of our BRIDGE program. During Earth Month, he got to see the ideas in action in his own chapter in Duluth, Minnesota. “The new BRIDGE Tabling Activity was a real hit. We had hundreds of conversations,” Brett said. The chapter used jelly beans in jars for folks to respond to the activity. “We ran out after only the first hour!”

Brett added, “We found the statement relating to the moral foundation of Sanctity resonated with people the most often.”

Group Leader Andy Willette found the same skew two hours away in Minneapolis. “We were a bit surprised to see ‘Protecting Natural Beauty’ get almost twice the votes as the next category,” he reflected. 

CCL’s North Atlanta chapter also had a great response to the activity, with their pompoms and jars showing a more even distribution across the moral foundations. 

That’s what makes BRIDGE so valuable — you can’t always predict who will stop by your table, so this activity reveals their perspectives right away, allowing CCL volunteers to have better conversations that lead to more fulfilling connections.

And in Middle Tennessee, “Our local CBS News Channel 5 did a feature covering Earth Day on their nightly broadcast. A number of participant booths were featured, including ours,” said chapter co-leader Fred LeMay. Chapter co-leader Curtis Baysinger was highlighted in the piece, emphasizing the need to leave a stable climate for future generations.

The journalist introduced the piece by saying, “While all kinds of people showed up to the Earth Day celebration, they all agreed on one thing: our planet is a thing to appreciate and protect.” That sentiment sounds right at home in the context of our BRIDGE Advocacy Program and tabling activity. CCLers know we can work toward the important shared goal of climate action, even if we have different perspectives and motivations driving us.

Creative giveaways add a dose of fun

Beyond BRIDGE, CCLers brought an extra dose of fun and creativity to this year’s Earth Month outreach. CCL Orange County South chapter has a presence at the San Clemente Garden Fest each year, thanks to Donna Vidrine, an active CCLer who is also a co-chair of the Garden Fest. This year, group co-leader Larry Kramer said, “We gave away Earth Day stress balls to everyone who wrote down what they are doing or will do to make the earth a better place. That proved to be a great conversation starter.” People shared a wide range of activities, with a few themes emerging: supporting pollinators and wildlife with gardens, driving electric or hybrid cars, and voting for politicians who support climate action. 

Ernst Wullenweber, South Carolina State Coordinator and Group Leader for CCL Charleston, tabled at an Earth Month eco-fair at a local university where they invited people to tie-dye CCL bandannas. “The bandanas were heat-pressed with the CCL logo on them. It got all sorts of people engaged, and we were able to get them to advocate for permitting reform before they tie-dyed,” Ernst said.

CCL Naperville went “all-out” on tabling this spring, said Group Leader Karen Campbell, with six events in April and May and making sure to engage all ages. At the DeKalb Earth Fest on April 11, visitors “took actions with their phones, contacting their representatives about permitting reform right then and there. The kids drew pictures about why they love the Earth — plus, they got a free cookie!” At the Geneva Earth Day event on April 18, CCLers gathered another batch of pictures drawn by local children. “We will deliver those pictures to our reps’ offices later this year. We know they love receiving them!”

All this outreach put the Naperville folks on the radar of their Member of Congress, too! Karen said, “Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL-14) visited our table at the Aurora Greenfest on May 2 and spoke to our volunteers. He was happy to see us there because he remembered us from other tabling events, two climate movie showings, and lobbying.”

Rolling up sleeves for local stewardship

Even though CCL’s focus is advancing federal climate action, there’s nothing like a local stewardship event to remind us what we’re working to protect. CCL Chicago partnered with the Chicago Parks District for just such an event on Northerly Island (pictured above), thanks to a relationship they’ve built over several years with their local park steward. 

“We had over 20 volunteers removing the last of the protective cages from growing native plants on the island, an effort we have been working on for the past few Earth Days,” said Group Leader Dana Nehls. “Additionally, our volunteers helped to prepare branches and logs for the island’s nature play space for children.” 

CCL’s St. Joseph / Benton Harbor chapter in Michigan helped clean up litter and did some tabling at the Sustain Ox Creek Clean Up and Earth Day event. “Ox Creek is a critical watershed that flows into Lake Michigan and is currently in phases to be cleaned and restored to maintain clean water for the environment and community,” explained Group Leader Angela Valha. “Along with volunteers from the community, we were able to clear litter and trash along the corridor of Ox Creek and several blocks surrounding Benton Harbor.”

Angela added, “Our chapter members are proud of the work we do on the federal level to support climate policy in Congress, but it’s so gratifying to be involved in local ‘boots on the ground’ community events like this that are a puzzle piece in the bigger picture of fighting climate change.”

CCL Laguna organized a Climate Awareness Walk that traveled through the coastal Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and along the busy Pacific Coast Highway. “The walk was organized and made a success by the teamwork of 10 chapter members who worked especially hard on the event for a month prior,” said Tom Osborne, one of the group’s co-leaders.

Jonathan Light, another co-leader, shared that about 125 people participated in the event, including Rep. Dave Min (CA-47) and his District Director, the Communications Director for State Assemblymember Laurie Davies (CA-74), two City Council members from Laguna Beach, one City Council member from Laguna Niguel, and one City Council member from Irvine. “That meant this non-partisan walk had elected officials from both sides of the aisle,” Jonathan said. “We had plenty of people giving us thumbs up and honks along the route.”

Thanks to every CCL volunteer who showed up strong this Earth Month! Your creativity, passion, and hard work make this a better world and a more powerful movement every single day.