Join us for the
ROCK TO ROCK EARTH DAY RIDE
Saturday, April 24, 2010

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Explore New Haven's parks and neighborhoods. Raise funds for great local environmental work. Registration opens this month -- so check back in soon!

Explore New Haven by bicycle. Rock to Rock is a day-long celebration of Earth Day, and of New Haven's rich environmental and cultural resources. Here's how it will work: You and a few hundred other riders will travel between West Rock and East Rock, with celebrations on both sides of the city. Along the way, you will eat tasty food, hear great music, plant a tree, and explore the city's parks. You will travel along the Farmington Canal Trail and official city bike lanes, pass through many of the city's beautiful neighborhoods, and make stops in Beaver Pond and Edgewood Parks on their way between the Rocks. Think you're hard-core? Take detours to the top of the two rocks. Have a little kid in tow? Join us from Common Ground to Edgewood Park. Families and college students, 20-something hipsters and teenagers, young and old, serious riders and weekend warriors will all be welcomed. Join our rock band.

Support local environmental education and community-building. All Rock to Rock proceeds will go to support the work of local parks and environmental education organizations: Common Ground, Solar Youth, Friends of East Rock Park, Friends of Beaver Pond Park, the Trowbridge Environmental Center, and the West Rock Nature Center. All of these organizations share a commitment to helping New Haven residents explore and learn from the city's parks. And all of these organizations need of additional resources in order to keep their important work strong and growing.

Last Year: Rock to Rock 2009

THANKS to all those who joined our Rock Band in 2009!

With the help of lots of fine folks and great local organizations, Rock to Rock was an enormous success. Here are the numbers:

1. 250 registered riders joined in the journey from East Rock to West Rock.
2. More than 50 volunteers served food, passed out t-shirts, kept folks moving in the right direction, and helped everything run smoothly.
3. Together, we raised about $10,000 to support the work of Solar Youth, Common Ground, Friends of East Rock Park, Friends of Beaver Pond Park, the West Rock Nature Center, and the Trowbridge Environmental Center.
4. At 71 degrees, and with just a few puffy clouds in the sky, Saturday was a perfect day to celebrate Earth Day and our fine city.

Thanks so much for your support. If you couldn't join in the fun, but still want to make a donation to support environmental education and community-building in New Haven Parks, click here. We'll keep you posted on plans for next year's Rock to Rock.

Have questions? Email us, or call 203.389.4333 x1214.

Our Team Rocks includes Nan Bartow, Ben Berkowitz, Karen Climis, Maggie Dressel, Dierdre Fox, Kim Futrell, Chris Heitman, Rebecca Holcombe, Justin Elicker, Matt Feiner, Aly Fox, Paul Hammer, Paola Rubbo, Illisa Kelman, Roland Lemar, Anne Lozon, Joe Milone, Joanne Sciulli, David Streever, Joel Tolman, Janna Wagner, and Alexis Wilcox.

Rock to Rock proceeds support Common Ground, Friends of East Rock Park, Friends of Beaver Pond Park, Solar Youth, the West Rock Nature Center, and the Trowbridge Environmental Center!

The City of New Haven, Devil's Gear Bike Shop, Yale Office of New Haven and State Affairs, Elm City Parks Conservancy, Kenny's Custom Interiors, Friends of Edgewood Park, Urban Resources Initiative, Elm City Cycling, Connecticut Rock Gym, West Rock Ridge Park Association, McDougal Center at Yale, Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, Romeo & Cesare, Nica's Market, L'Orcio, Bruegger's, Parker's Tangent, Musical Folk, Amity Bicycles, Regional Water Authority, E-Bomb's Custom Screen Printing, BEEEP, Inc., Chabaso Bakery, Ashley's Ice Cream, Nate's Naturals, Shaw's, Stop n' Shop, BJ's, Schindler Creative, New Haven Bicycle Collective, New Haven Bioregional Group, and many others!

Become a sponsor! Your support:

1. Helps thousands of city kids experience nature -- through camps, field trips, and after-school programs.
2. Keeps the city's parks clean and beautiful -- by planting trees, dealing with litter, and removing invasive plants.
3. Provides hundreds of community events -- nature hikes, farm festivals, volunteer days, trail runs.
4. Makes sure New Haven is a vibrant, healthy, safe city -- by preserving greenspaces, encouraging outdoor recreation, and making good use of our parks.