Item No. 4
Town of Atherton
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT – CONSENT AGENDA
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
GEORGE RODERICKS, CITY MANAGER
FROM: ANTHONY SUBER, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER/ CITY CLERK
DATE: JUNE 18, 2025
SUBJECT: RECEIVE AND FILE THE EARTH DAY 2025 SUMMARY
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the Council receive and file the Earth Day Summary for 2025.
BACKGROUND | ANALYSIS
Every year in April, the Town comes together to honor Earth Day. The Environmental Programs Committee (EPC) has historically played a vital role in assisting staff in planning and facilitating an Earth Day Event designed to engage and educate the community of sustainability and climaterelated topics as well as promote the goals of the Town’s Climate Action Plan (CAP). In 2023 Atherton participated in a regional Earth Day Celebration partnering with the City of Palo Alto, City of Menlo Park, and 350 Silicon Valley. The event received additional financial support from Town partners at GreenWaste, Peninsula Clean Energy and CalWater. The goal was to leverage resources, volunteers, and staff to improve event coordination and experience for the community.
In 2024 the Council supported a return of Earth Day at Holbrook-Palmer Park led by the EPC and staff. The EPC Subcommittee and staff developed a work plan that included vegan and vegetarian food, activities, art displays, clean vehicle displays, and a special demo featuring UC Davis Sheep mowers and Husqvarna robotic lawnmowers. After 2024 the EPC recommended to Council that staff take full ownership of the logistics and execution of future Earth Day events utilizing EPC for concept, policy, and theme support.
For the 2025 Earth Day event, Council supported staff led logistics and execution. The EPC Subcommittee and staff developed a work plan that included family-friendly activities, food, exhibitors, special demonstrations, and an outreach plan to draw in residents and neighbors. The EPC Subcommittee selected engagement campaign supported by students for content creation.
The following is a summary of the event details.
Earth Day 2025 Summary
JUNE 18, 2025
Event Basics
The event was held on Sunday, April 27th at Holbrook-Palmer Park from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. It included a bicycle parking lot located at the Carriage House and managed by local Boy/Girl Scouts as part of a service project. The Town promoted walking/biking via a social media campaign to promote less reliance of car transportation during Earth Month. CalWater returned to provide a water refill station that accommodated visitors, exhibitors, and volunteers. Staff, Volunteers, and Exhibitors / Vendors were onsite starting at 8:30 AM for setup and traffic control. This year included scheduled shows for the Traveling Reptile display. In total there were 39 exhibitors that included town partners.
Food/Water Vendors
Three vegetarian or vegan food trucks participated this year confirmed through Food Fleet. Each vendor served food from 11:00 AM – 2:45 PM. The vendors were:
1. Cielito Lindo
2. Kabob Trolley
3. Saigon Street Food
PopNation returned and the Town prepared 100 popsicles to incentivize attendees to bike and walk to the event. There were 70 free popsicles handed out.
CalWater retuned and provided a water refill station and promoted sustainability in bringing refillable water bottles and reusable straws to take full advantage of the station.
Exhibitors & Partners
Each year there is a comprehensive collection of Town partners such as Peninsula Clean Energy, CalWater, GreenWaste Recovery, San Mateo County Library, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, ADAPT, and others. Vendors were invited to begin set up as early as 9:00 AM on Sunday with the exception of the Art Displays that took place on Saturday evening.
A few vendors and community resource organizations that participated included:
Atherton Arts Foundation (AAF)
Atherton Police Department
Atherton Tree Committee
HIP Housing
Joan Sparks - Wildlife Photographer – Art Display
Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts of America
Earth Day 2025 Summary
JUNE 18, 2025
Special Demonstrations
The Beetle Lady provided an engaging and interactive experience for participants of all ages. She transformed the Main Lawn into a designated Pop-Up Bug Museum. The museum featured arthropod specimens from around the world live insects, and hands-on exhibits.
West Coast Falconry provided an informative and hands-on experience. They featured two (2) falcons, two (2) hawks and two (2) owls for educational and photo opportunities. The team answered questions about birds of prey, their role in the environment, the art of falconry and how falconry plays a large part in raptor conservation.
The Traveling Reptile Show presented an exciting program that featured over 10 reptiles that included amphibians, and arachnids. Attendees learned about the unique behaviors of these fascinating creatures, their habitats, and their connection to humans and the environment.
Attendees enjoyed an interactive presentation with up-close encounters.
The Atherton Library hosted an interactive booth, covered by 5-6 library staff, with a variety of engaging Earth Day-themed activities, including:
Giveaway books and library books available for checkout on nature, conservation, and animals
A demonstration of their bike lending program
Rotating hands-on activities designed to bring environmentalism home, including:
DIY Hummingbird Feeder
Monarch Butterfly Migration Rest Stop
Make Your Own Seed Bombs (featuring native wildflowers or pollinator attractors) Rock Painting for Bee Baths
Swag and environmental resources from San Mateo County Libraries The Atherton Arts Foundation (AAF) leading up to the Earth Day Festival, organized two community art projects. One featured a large tile painting designed for young students to complete, with AAF President Dorothy Hunter overseeing the coordination of individual tile paintings that were assembled into a larger artwork and unveiled at on Sunday.
Complementing this exhibit, an AAF instructor presented fabric art hangings depicting endangered species. Jennings Pavilion served as the central hub for the event’s art demonstrations, which included wildlife photography, fabric art, tile painting, and plant species drawings and paintings.
The Pavilion hosted screenings of short educational videos covering topics such as climate change, invasive species, animal adaptation, and biodiversity.
The Atherton Arts Foundation (AAF) hosted a tote bag activity, allowing participants to block print an endangered species from a pre-selected list provided by the Foundation. Additionally, AAF coordinated the use of Jennings Pavilion to showcase wildlife photography by Joan Sparks, with select pieces scheduled for display at Town Hall from March through May 2025.
Earth Day 2025 Summary
JUNE 18, 2025
Volunteers and Youth Engagement
Over 31 volunteers registered for the event, not including the Boy/Girl Scouts which accounted for an additional 8-12 students. Volunteers were deployed in two shifts. Shift 1 – starting at 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM and Shift 2 – starting at 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. The Police Department assisted with securing 4 Resident Volunteer Patrol (RVP) residents to assist with traffic management.
To encourage student participation, volunteer flyers were shared with local schools, along with outreach to sustainability, communications, and student engagement staff, as well as science, music, and art teachers to explore ways their students could contribute. During Earth Day there were three local Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops that attended and supported the free bike parking (located inside of the Carriage House) and traffic management. Student Boy / Girl Scouts partnered with an adult RVP to greet and direct cars that drove into Holbrook-Palmer Park.
The Atherton Youth Advisory Group held a table to market their organization, recruit members and share information about the recent Easter Egg Hunt.
There were over 20 student volunteers from local schools that included, Menlo Atherton High School, Menlo School, Sacred Heart Prep School, Design Tech HS and Woodside Priory. Students were assigned roles throughout the day that included, set-up/break down of tables and chairs for vendors, general vendor support, assistance with directing visitors to attractions, and managing the volunteer table.
Outreach and Engagement
Staff distributed vendor invitations via email and form, and Earth Day 2025 was promoted through the usual Town channels, that include website and social media. Staff created events on Facebook and Nextdoor and utilized Eventbrite as a free semi-registration mechanism to gauge attendance.
We promoted in local newspapers, the Athertonian, banners on Marsh and Watkins and at other Town events. Volunteer flyers were shared with local schools and affiliated educators.
FISCAL IMPACT
$10,000 was allocated toward the event for 2025 from the Administration Budget. Staff have processed invoices for all scheduled vendors totaling $7,200.
GOAL ALIGNMENT
This Report and its contents are in alignment with the following Council Policy Goals:
• Goal D - Be Forward Thinking
PUBLIC NOTICE
Public notification was achieved by posting the agenda, with this agenda item being listed, at least 72 hours prior to the meeting in print and electronically. Information about the project is also Earth Day 2025 Summary
JUNE 18, 2025
disseminated via the Town’s electronic News Flash and Atherton Online. There are approximately 1,200 subscribers to the Town’s electronic News Flash publications. Subscribers include residents as well as stakeholders –to include, but be not limited to, media outlets, school districts, Menlo Park Fire Protection District, service provides (water, power, and sewer), and regional elected officials.
COMMISSION/COMMITTEE FEEDBACK/REFERRAL
This item has not been before a Town Committee or Commission
ATTACHMENTS
None