Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates Earth Month and efforts by Chicago's local community organizations

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC 7, Chicago's No. 1 station for news, presented a virtual town hall exploring Earth Month and what the Chicago community is doing to celebrate and promote the message of respect for our environment. ABC 7 Chicago's Weekend Morning News Meteorologist Greg Dutra will moderate "OUR CHICAGO: Voices of the Community" available on abc7chicago.com Thursday, April 29, at 2:00 p.m.

Since Earth Day was launched on April 22, 1970, it has been a catalyst for environmental action across the U.S. and the world. Exploring positive environmental changes and looking for innovative solutions in sustainability, Earth Month reminds us to respect and care for our planet.

During the town hall, ABC 7's Greg Dutra led a lively and informative panel discussion on how our local community is embracing Earth Month in both big and small ways. They will discuss what Chicagoans have done to put real change into action and how to better care for our planet, improving it for ourselves and saving it for future generations. They will also look at nonprofits serving youth and adults who have experienced life-altering events to learn ways they are encouraging their clients to champion environmental initiatives and save natural resources while learning valuable lessons to improve their own lives.

Guest panelists for this week's town hall include the following:

-Mattie Wilson, Garfield Park Conservatory

-Brenda Palms-Barber, North Lawndale Employment Network

-Tari Marshall, The Morton Arboretum

-Kreagan Carbone, BUILD, Inc.

-Lauren Somogyi, Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana

The virtual town hall was also exclusively streamed live on ABC 7's Facebook Live, YouTube, ABC 7's app and ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/abc7chicago

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abc7Chicago/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abc7Chicago/

PREVIOUS TOWN HALLS:

Our Chicago: Town hall on keeping Latino youth safe, demands for investment in wake of Adam Toledo shooting

Our Chicago: Town hall on impact of climate change and weather on our environment

Our Chicago: Town hall with Chicago religious leaders addresses trust, safety around COVID-19 vaccines

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Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on June 4, 2020: Hosted by Cheryl Burton, on the aftermath of George Floyd's death

About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago

ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.3 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, the station produces 41 hours of local news weekly and Chicago's only local weekday entertainment talk show, "Windy City LIVE," as well as its highest-rated New Year's Eve special. ABC7's award-winning programs such as "Heart and Soul," "The Ñ Beat" and "Asian Influences" showcase the city's diversity, while being the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.