The official ‘Earth Day’ falls on April 22, but you can find a week’s worth of events taking place in Toronto and the GTA right through to Sunday, April 25.

The Earth Day call to action -- the 40th such day in North America, the 20ths in Canada -- has something for everyone. You can show your support for the environment with cultural events, clean-up parties, or just hoist a sustainable pint with fellow greenies.

Here's a list:

April 21

Green Party - Finding Hope: Confronting climate wars
A private reception and discussion with author Gwynne Dyer, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and radio personality Ralph Benmergui. This costs $450, but includes a $400 income tax receipt.
At L´Espresso Bar Mercurio, 321 Bloor St. W. and starts at 5:30 p.m. Call 1-866-868-3447. A public event follows at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity St. Paul´s United Church (427 Bloor St. W.). The cost is $15. Call 1-866-868-3447 x 239.

Fighting for Transit City
At 6 p.m., the Toronto Environmental Alliance is urging people to show up at city council's chambers to lend their voice in support of Transit City. The provincial government said last month that it would be delaying about $4 billion in capital spending on the massive project to develop a 120-kilometre network of light rail transit. For those who don't want to attend the demonstration, Franz Hartman, executive director of the alliance, urged them to contact Premier Dalton McGuinty or their MPP and demand support for Transit City. "Transit expansion is absolutely vital to reduce smog and to combat climate change," he said.

April 22 (Earth Day!)
Downsview Secondary School - We Green
Students at the school will be planting seeds, flowers and calculating their eco-footprints.

SickKids Celebrates Earth Day
Be among the first 200 to drop off used household batteries and books and get a free seedling. There will be Earth Day crafts in the atrium, the SickKids 100 Acts of Green Challenge, which gets you entered in a draw for a prize, a movie screening and other events.

North Toronto Collegiate Institute: Earth Day Assembly
The school, located at 70 Roehampton Ave., will be celebrating its LEED certification. LEED means Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Black Creek Conservation Project
At Chalkfarm Park, community and student volunteers will be planting native trees and shrubs along the banks of Black Creek. This will take place from noon to 6:30 p.m., but will and marks the start of a summer-long project.

Green Party neighbourhood cleanups

  • Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner will be leading a group for a half-hour power cleanup. Meet at Grange Park (John Street north of Queen St. West) at 2 p.m.
  • Another event will take place at Taylor Creek Park starting at 6:30 p.m. Please use the parking lot off Dawes Road. For day-of-event direction, call 416-580-2979

Loretty Abbey Catholic Secondary School Earth Day Cleanup
This school at 101 Mason Blvd. will be sprucing up its grounds and its indoors facilities starting at 2:30 p.m.

Salmon fry release in Oshawa
Grade 6 students from Stephen G. Saywell Public School in Oshawa will release 100 Atlantic salmon fry raised in Toronto and Region Conservation Authority classroom hatcheries over the winter into Duffins Creek. Atlantic salmon used to be native to Lake Ontario, but disappeared by the late 1800s. A push to restore the species began in 2006.

Clearview Community Coalition concert
Shoko Inoue will be performing at St. Paul's Basilica at 83 Power St. at this concert, being held to protect the Niagara Escarpment from gravel quarries. It starts at 7 p.m.

Forest Hill Zen Fashion Show
The Forest Hill Social Action Club and Environmental Club are putting on a fashion show for Forest Hill Collegiate Institute students by showing eco-friendly clothing made by socially aware brands. Funds raised will go to World Vision and Evergreen Toronto.

Green Drinks Toronto
This paid event ($25; includes admission to the CN Tower Horizons Lounge) will be a mixer for environmental professionals or otherwise green Torontonians. The tower itself will be lit up with green LED lighting. It starts at 7:30 p.m.

SunFunk 2010
This event at Clinton's Tavern (693 Bloor St. W.) is a party to celebrate Earth Day with dance, comedy and music. The show starts at 8 p.m. and costs $10 at the door.

April 23

Toronto's 20-Minute Makeover
At 2 p.m., the city is asking people to take small plastic bags from home and spend 20 minutes filling them with litter. You can get latex gloves and GLAD garbage bags from participating Pizza Pizza outlets or Toronto community or civic centres. This event will be GTA-wide and usually draws several hundred thousand volunteers. A number of Toronto and wider GTA businesses will be sending their employees out to help with neighbourhood cleanup efforts.

"Flow" - a documentary about water privatization
This film will show at Richview Library, 1806 Islington Ave., at 9:30 a.m. Registration is encouraged, so call 416-394-5125.

Green Living Show
The Green Living show features more than 400 exhibitors and runs through to Sunday at Exhibition Place's Direct Energy Centre. Adults can pay $12 to get in, or you can bring in a piece of e-waste to be recycled and get in for free courtesy of Samsung. There are a range of events and attractions. A business forum features author and economist Jeff Rubin as the keynote speaker. Actor Colin Firth and Olympian Clara Hughes will also be making appearances over the weekend.

April 24

Community Cleanup Day
Following up on the 20-minute makeover, the city encourages community groups to clean up a local park or public space. Groups should register in advance at http://www.toronto.ca/litter by April 16 in order to arrange for same-day pickup of the gathered litter.

Recycle your computer
If you have an obsolete computer and would like to get rid of it for either reuse or recycling, drop it off at Free Geek Toronto, 51 Vine Ave., Unit B. It's open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Earth Day Fun Fair
The Waterfront Montessori Children's Centre is holding a day-long event on Algonquin Island in the Toronto Islands for children aged two to eight. There will be a nature discover walk, crafts, face-painting and a puppet show. Admission is $10 per family. Ferries leave at 9:45 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.

April 25

Earth Run

At Downsview Park, up to 1,000 runners and walkers will gather starting at 11 a.m. for an Earth Run. There will also be green exhibitors, food, entertainment and family-friendly activities. All participants get a chance to plant a seedling after completing their run.

If you don’t want to take part in an organized event but just want to enjoy some natural beauty in Toronto's highly urbanized environment, here are some suggestions from followers of CTV Toronto's Twitter account:

  • Highland Creek in far eastern Scarborough
  • Rouge Park on the boundary between Toronto and Pickering
  • Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street Spit
  • Toronto Islands
  • Scarborough Bluffs
  • Rosetta Gardens park off Kingston Road in Scarborough
  • High Park: Some love the autumn there, but the cherries are currently in blossom -- for a limited time only