Spring is inching our way.

CELEBRATE TREES, CELEBRATE EARTH Spring is in the air, and what better way to celebrate the coming of the green than with a weekend of green activities? On Friday, April 24, stop by Howe School at 2:30 p.m., for Mt. Lebanon’s Arbor Day celebration. The event helps us retain our Tree City USA status. Held on the school lawn and coordinated by Principal Michelle Murray, it will include student artwork, original poetry and essay, musical performances, a reading of the Arbor Day proclamation and a flag-raising ceremony. It will conclude with the planting of a tree.

The next day—Saturday, April 25—is Mt. Lebanon’s Earth Day celebration in Mt. Lebanon Park. Bring the entire family for this fun event, running from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Girl Scouts will provide children’s activities and local environmental nonprofits, businesses and crafters will be on hand with activities, crafts and green tips. There also will be food and music.

GEAR UP FOR GARDENING Get ready for spring with a series of gardening classes at Mt. Lebanon Public Library. First up is “Let the Roses Do the Work: Growing Today’s Roses,” 6 p.m., Monday, March 2. Presenter David McKibben, American Rose Society Consulting Rosarian, will talk about how to grow beautiful roses using sustainable, low-environmental impact practices. His presentation will review easy steps for growing today’s roses—from how to buy roses to insect and disease control. Phipps Conservatory and Botanic Gardens Master Gardener and landscape designer Claire Schuchman will teach a three-week landscape design course geared to the novice at 5:30 p.m., Mondays, March 9, 16 and 23. Using the concepts of sustainable design, Schuchman will cover techniques to shade out weeds with ground covers and installing rain barrels or permeable pavement. Please bring: graph paper, pencils, ruler, package of different colored pencils and some tracing paper.