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In the mess we call home, there was an iphone and a starbucks cup and a beanbag with a tired bloodhound pup and there was one teen girl, with wavy curls and two preteens making scenes and a daddy on the computer, a champion “tooter’ and a fight with food – what manners.. how rude! […]

Thursday, April 22 marks the 40^th Anniversary of Earth Day around the world, a milestone that calls for celebration! In Canada, it seems that a single day just isn’t enough—up above the 49^th parallel, “Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events” held across the country. One of the biggest events is the Earth Walk, held right here in Orca’s home town, Victoria, BC, where over 5,000 people gather in costume to parade through downtown to raise awareness about the environment.

This year, the Association of Book Publishers of BC (ABPBC) has partnered with the Sierra Club and Chapters Indigo Books & Music to present a series of Earth Day events on April 22, 24 and 25 in Victoria and Vancouver. The events encourage readers to “think local” when purchasing books and magazines, just as they do when choosing food or other products.

In the Vancouver Observer, Heidi Waechtler, project coordinator for the ABPBC said, “Earth Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to raise awareness of homegrown publications and the contributors whose talent they cultivate…It’s a great opportunity to not only celebrate BC books but to also promote those titles that bring awareness to what it means to be ‘environmental’ in today’s world.”

We couldn’t agree more. As a local Canadian publisher, Orca prides itself on publishing local authors and illustrators and taking their work to a wider audience.

The Read Local, Buy Local series consists of 28 free events open to the public. In Victoria, these events include ExtraVeganZa with Laura Matthias, children’s activities hosted by the Sierra Club (with surprise visitors!), The O Mile Diet with organic gardener Carolyn Herriot and Take a Hike! hosted by British Columbia Magazine and ActNow BC to help get your family ready for outdoor adventures this spring. See the Full Event Schedule.

We think two new Orca titles are worthy of some Earth Day celebration too—check out their accompanying websites for teacher resources, games and fun, free stuff:

The Salmon Bears explores the delicate balance that exists between the grizzly, black and spirit bear of the Great Bear Rainforest and their natural environment on the central coast of British Columbia. Learn more about salmon bears and see Ian McAllister’s stunning photography from the book.

Food Fight, the latest in our Graphic Guide Adventure series, mixes action and suspense with information on the agricultural system and the intricacies of the food supply. Take a quiz, build a comic, and get in