“Eco Evenings with DEP and OMG,” a series of virtual town halls open to County residents to discuss relevant environmental topics that are important locally, will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, with Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich making opening remarks. The new series is sponsored by the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and One Montgomery Green (OMG).

This series will have new discussions on the last Wednesday of each month.

In celebration of April as Earth Month, the featured topics of the opening discussion will be on climate actions, including highlights from the County’s Climate Action Plan; plans for a new “County tree;” and details about plogging, a new County-wide, anti-litter campaign.

Eco Evenings will be hosted by Adam Ortiz, director of DEP, and Wendy Howard, executive director of OMG. They will lead discussions on timely environmental topics, answer questions and engage with special guests.

“Eco Evenings are a great idea from the Department of Environmental Protection and One Montgomery Green to engage our constituents through thoughtful discussions to improve our environment,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “We are running out of time before climate change impacts become catastrophic. We must have a sense of urgency about saving and protecting our environment.

These virtual townhalls are a great opportunity to share new ideas and solutions to address the climate challenges we face as a County.”

“I’m excited to begin this new collaboration with the OMG team,” said DEP Director Ortiz. “We strive to be public leaders in the movement toward a greener future. Eco Evenings is a great way to connect with the public to discuss ideas and environmental innovations that allow us to work toward a shared goal.”

OMG Director Howard said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with DEP for Eco Evenings. This is a perfect fit for the type of work that OMG takes on and it is a great way to bring County residents together with the eco experts.”

The events are free to join for residents. For more information and a link to the event, go to the DEP Facebook Event Page at https://www.facebook.com/MyGreenMontgomery.

Or join the Zoom meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82456777543?pwd=RWFLQnFpZm8zdXdwcHp6VlM2QjU5dz09.

The meeting ID is 824 5677 7543. The passcode is 171930.

For more information about DEP, go to https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dep/.

For more information about OMG, go to https://onemontgomerygreen.org.