COS Town Tidings #26-111

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Happy Tuesday! Tomorrow is the 56th Earth Day, and it turns out our city has a deeper Earth Day story than most people realize. Plus, we've got some genuinely good local news to share. Here's what's inside:

🤣 Today’s Chuckle

📰 Safe Drug Drop-Off This Sat 💊

📰 Venetucci Farm Is Becoming an Outdoor Classroom 🌾

📰 What’s Happening With the Herd? 🦒

🌍 Trivia Time: The Surprising Local Earth Day Connection (you'll love this)

🛍 New: Bargain Box Weekly Sales, Apr 21-25!

📆 Local Events + Concerts & Special Events

🌤 COS Weather - Mostly sunny with and very warm / above average temps

Colorado Springs residents are encouraged to take advantage of National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, this Sat, April 25. From 10am to 2pm, unused or expired medications can be dropped off anonymously at four local locations:

Officials say keeping unused prescriptions at home can increase the risk of accidental poisoning, misuse, addiction, or theft, especially for children, teens, and vulnerable individuals. Proper disposal also helps protect the environment by keeping medications out of landfills and waterways. Full Story

🍕 Poor Richard’s Downtown, grab a slice

Just in time for Earth Week: the beloved Venetucci Farm in Security is being transformed into a hands-on outdoor classroom for Colorado Springs second graders. Starting this week, 1,300 kids from 33 D-11 elementary schools will visit the historic 188-acre farm to take part in Nature Navigators, a new program from Colorado Youth Outdoors designed to bring science learning out of textbooks and into the real world.

Students rotate through four outdoor stations: learning how bees pollinate apple blossoms, exploring animal traps, furs, and a 24-foot teepee, wading into water erosion at Fountain Creek, and hearing from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Native American elders from the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe tribes will share how their ancestors used this land…land that still has wild turkeys and mule deer roaming its wooded edges.

The western section of the farm, unused and shaded by mature trees, is being cleared by volunteers to make it happen. It's part of D-11's Peak Experience initiative, and organizers hope other districts follow suit. As one D-11 leader put it: "We can't do enough real-world learning in 2026." Happy Earth Week, indeed. 🌱 Full Story

A new week means new treasures! We're giving you a first look at the incredible finds and amazing sales hitting the floor for Apr 21-25 (New Deals). Watch now to see what's waiting for you!

👉 Remember, you can donate items here too!

Location: 405 S Nevada Ave, Open Tues - Sat 10am-2pm. (719) 475-1029

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance are making some important giraffe moves this May as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan. Jasiri, who has been temporarily staying at CM Zoo, will head back to Denver, and eight-year-old Panya will also leave Colorado Springs on a breeding recommendation. In her place, we will welcome Thorn, Denver’s first giraffe calf in almost 10 years and already a favorite for his playful energy and curiosity.

While it’s always a little bittersweet to say goodbye to animals we have come to love, these moves are designed to support the long-term health and future of endangered reticulated giraffes.

Watch the 60 second video above with Kristen Nielson (Try it today!) ☝

Tomorrow marks the 56th anniversary of Earth Day first celebrated on April 22, 1970. But here's what most Colorado Springs residents don't know: just one year later, in 1971, our very own Garden of the Gods was designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It wasn't a coincidence.

The national awakening sparked by that first Earth Day put the country's most extraordinary natural places on notice and the red rocks of Colorado Springs made the list immediately. 🏔️

The story of Garden of the Gods is also one of remarkable generosity. In 1909, railroad magnate Charles Elliot Perkins had long loved the dramatic red sandstone formations he'd been visiting for decades and quietly bought up the land to protect it. When he died, his family honored his wish by donating 480 acres to the City of Colorado Springs for free, with one condition: it must always remain open to the public at no charge. That gift, made 117 years ago, is why you can walk those ancient paths today without paying a cent.

The red sandstone at Garden of the Gods is 300 million years old formed when Colorado was covered by a vast inland sea and later pushed upward by tectonic forces. Over 2 million people visit it each year, making it one of the most visited city parks in the entire country. Not bad for a place that was almost turned into a resort hotel (Perkins bought it to prevent that exact fate). 😄

So tomorrow when you celebrate Earth Day remember that our city was ahead of the curve. We didn't just protect our natural beauty for ourselves. We protected it forever. Go ahead and take a hike, a quiet moment outside, or just a deep breath of Colorado air! 🌍💚

🍞 Fresh Baked Sourdough breads, pastries
Nature's Start Bread Company
📍3312 Austin Bluffs (Inside The Cupcake Doctor):
M-Sat, 9am-6pm

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