FORT BRAGG, CA., 4/22/26 — Earth Day, observed annually on April 22, marks the anniversary of the modern environmental movement’s goals to promote actions to reduce pollution, conserve natural resources, and advance environmental protection for the earth and its living beings. Fort Bragg continues to serve as a model for community-driven environmental engagement through the 17th annual Noyo Food Forest Earth Day Festival.
The event drew a large turnout Saturday at the Noyo Food Forest’s Learning Garden at Fort Bragg High School, bringing together families, students and local organizations for a day focused on environmental education and sustainability.
The free event featured live music and cultural performances, crafters, garden education booths, a plant sale, children’s activity stations and demonstrations highlighting local food systems, energy efficiency, recycling and regenerative agriculture.
More than 50 organizations and vendors contributed education, sustainability exhibits and hands-on activities to bring the community together around Earth Day themes. Attendees visited nonprofit information tables, participated in workshops, and sampled food from local vendors, including bicycle-powered smoothie demonstrations.
Noyo Food Forest provides hands-on training for students
Noyo Food Forest grows produce for the school cafeteria and provides educational programming, including classes and paid student internships in farming. The organization maintains a one-acre site on the high school campus and is now in its 20th year there.
“We grow food for the cafeteria program, and we also do classes and paid internships with high school students here,” said Noyo Food Forest Board President Teresa Raffo
The festival, held annually as both a celebration and fundraiser, supports Noyo Food Forest’s farm-to-school programs, youth internships, and educational gardens on the Mendocino Coast. Organizers said it continues to serve as a major community gathering in Fort Bragg, drawing widespread participation each spring.
Edwina Lincoln, a Native Yuki Elder from Round Valley, has traditionally opened the Earth Day Festival with a ceremonial cultural presentation, marking the beginning of the day’s environmental stewardship programming.
C&S Waste’s Redwood Waste Solutions outreach team members Selene Vega and Kristine Gonzalez were on hand to promote proper waste disposal and recycling. Gonzalez said the team was giving out free food waste kitchen bins “to encourage at-home composting or to collect food scraps to place into our green bins for composting.” Vega emphasized the importance of reducing waste and protecting local land and natural resources for future generations rather than stockpiling waste in landfills.
Volunteers with Mendocino Spartan 4-H, Angelica Mercado and Roshan Ashford, provided information about the group’s monthly meetings in Caspar, where local elementary and middle school youth participate in projects led by 4-H youth officers. Activities range from community service to raising and caring for sheep, goats, rabbits, and poultry, as well as mushroom identification, sewing, baking, mountain biking and more.
Jason Lord of Mendocino Solar Service set up a solar oven kit consisting of a box, a series of reflectors that direct sunlight into the box and a clear front that traps heat. Solar box cookers work in a similar way to a kitchen oven, allowing users to bake bread, roast meat and prepare foods such as soup and rice. Lord baked several batches of brownies throughout the day.
Mendocino Center for Circus Arts, also known as CircusMecca, wowed the crowd with stunning aerial arts performances.
Raffo, now in her seventh year leading Noyo Food Forest, said the annual event reflects a deepening partnership with Fort Bragg High School and a growing network of local collaborators.
“I think it’s one of our best, and I attribute that to the amazing relationship that we have with the high school here,” Raffo said. “Now we’re real partners, teaching kids about regenerative agricultural practices, and this feels like a culmination of that.”
Raffo said the program collaborates closely with the school’s agriculture department, Mendocino Unified School District staff and other community organizations.
“There’s so many organizations here today, and we’re all working together,” she said. “It’s just a beautiful event.”
Raffo said the student-run CSA program offers 32 produce boxes, with some still available during the current eight-week season aligned with peak harvest. A CSA, or community supported agriculture program, is a system in which community members buy shares from a local farm in advance and receive regular boxes of fresh, seasonal produce and sometimes other items such as eggs or flowers during the growing season.
Raffo also emphasized the importance of volunteers in sustaining the program.
“We’re always looking for volunteers in our community who want to participate in the garden and in events like this,” she said. “We have three events like this every year, and we couldn’t do it without our volunteers.”
For more information about Noyo Food Forest, see noyofoodforest.org.