Macon is returning to its roots and branching out for this year’s Earth Day celebrations.

Thirteen organizations are joining forces for a two-day focus on conservation and preservation of natural resources.

Volunteers will get to the nitty-gritty of it all and clean the streets of Beall’s Hill, scour the banks of the Ocmulgee for trash and plant a garden in Pleasant Hill.

“This is actually the best Earth Day I can ever imagine,” said Charise Stephens, executive director of the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition and the Middle Georgia Clean Cities Coalition. “We have so many diverse activities (for) kids to elected officials to people who really want to learn.”

The festivities officially kick off at 1 p.m. Friday at the Ocmulgee National Monument with a tree giveaway and free tours of that local piece of earth that looks almost like it did to Macon’s earliest dwellers dating back thousands of years. The coalitions will host a gathering of local leaders who endorse the mission of Earth Day.

But the fun begins hours earlier as members of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Georgia can participate in Earth Day activities at the Buck Melton Center from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Macon’s Parks and Recreation Department is also offering free events for children at Freedom, Bloomfield and North Macon parks.

Families can take nature in stride Friday evening in the “Earth Day Fitness Walk and Talk” from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Gateway Park. Folks can take a community stroll along the river, check their wellness and pick up nutrition and cycling tips.

Those wanting to celebrate under the stars can view the Academy Award-winning film “WALL-E” on Coleman Hill at 8 p.m. The Macon Film Festival and The College Hill Alliance are sponsoring the free Pixar animated movie that tells the story of a robot that is cleaning the waste-covered planet.

Then Saturday, The Historic Macon Foundation hosts its second annual “Preservation is Conservation” Green Field Day at Central City Park from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Members of Historic Macon accepted a challenge a few years ago from Chuck Leavell. The tree farmer and musician encouraged the foundation to take the lead on Earth Day, a time set aside 41 years ago to inspire an appreciation of the environment and a heightened awareness of threats against it.

Historic Macon’s executive director, Josh Rogers, said this year’s “Preservation is Conservation” observance fits the foundation’s mission.

“The ultimate form of recycling is reusing the buildings we have,” Rogers said.

That role is increasingly important as people better understand the impact of new construction on the environment, Rogers said.

Saving an old home can potentially leave more timber growing and fewer log trucks guzzling diesel on the highway. It also can save more greenspace from being developed into cookie-cutter dwellings when there’s already a glut of empty homes now.

Technology is also increasing contractors’ ability to make old buildings energy efficient, making restoration a practical goal, he said.

In the park, vendors of green products will present ideas for conserving energy, saving money and reducing the carbon footprint. Local growers also will sell produce as children pot their own plants and create recyclable art.

The creativity can begin at home as fledgling artists of all ages can enter a “green” egg decorating contest. Entries must be at the park by noon Saturday.

Mark Ballard, who is emceeing the green field day, will pick winners in four age categories.

No, the eggs are not his trademark “lime green” but are more of a kelly green, he said.

Eggs and rule sheets are available at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard and Zebulon Road, he said.

Entrants must use natural or recycled materials to decorate the plastic eggs.

While practicing with children at the restaurants this week, some used edible icing with candies in a mosaic and others fashioned yarn in patterns, he said. Ballard used petals from an artificial flower on his own.

“It kind of reminds me of being in art school,” Ballard said of the contest limitations on materials and recycling concept. “(Entrants) just need to look at things a whole different way. Kids will benefit from looking at things differently, and they need to learn how to focus on recycling.”

While at the park, gardeners can swap plants from their yard with those from local master gardeners. Riverside Ford will encourage fossil fuel conservation with a display of its hybrid vehicles.

Between 10:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., experts will offer advice on the correct way to plant a tree, compile compost materials in the backyard and build raised-bed and community gardens.

Plus, more free trees will be available from Ocmulgee National Monument.

Stephens is currently working through the Clean Cities program to have the Ocmulgee Monument join Yellowstone Park, Grand Teton National Park and Mammoth Cave as climate friendly parks. She is trying to secure a grant for hybrid vehicles and a propane powered lawn mower.

“I think of ‘green’ as economic development,” Stephens said. “For us to really sustain ourselves, we have to create a whole new green economy.”

Rogers hopes Earth Day participants will walk away with a better understanding of how historic preservation is green.

“But more importantly, I hope people will go home and make one change toward greener living. It’s not kooky. It can make a difference.”

Those ready to put boots on the ground in the fight to reclaim the land’s natural beauty can report to Centenary United Methodist at 10 a.m. for the two-hour Beall’s Hill cleanup.

At noon, those gathered at the Earth Day information booth at Central City Park will fan out along the river until 2 p.m. when the planting begins at the Pleasant Hill community garden at 403 Craft St.

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303.