After traveling in Asia for almost three months we began planning our trip back to the United States. We asked ourselves where we should go and one place came to mind, a place we always feel at home, Lake Tahoe. We looked at the calendar (for the first time in awhile) and noticed a very important day was going to coincide with our arrival back in the states, Earth Day. We thought how perfect. Where else in the world would we rather be for Earth Day?
We landed in SFO and were warmly welcomed by our California family, Patricia and Steve and we were reunited with Scarlet. She still smelled the same. We caught up with our jetlag and started our research of events to volunteer at for the celebration of Mother Earth. We came across the Tahoe-Truckee Earth Day celebration at Squaw Valley.
This is an eco-event raising awareness about recycling, composting, and alternate energy. With earth-friendly vendors, they show ways to reduce your footprint. Also in the schedule was the “Trashion Show.” Three of our favorite things combined into one event- fashion, Tahoe and the Earth.
We were happily received by Executive Director of SWEP, Missy, to help out for the day. SWEP (Sierra Watershed Education Patnerships) is a nonprofit promoting environmental stewardship by involving students from the area in their community and local environment. We were instantly amazed about what they were doing and learning at a young age. They are taught that they can make difference and address issues with the help of community partners and teachers.
We arrived at Squaw where the ski resort was fully open in April, to our amazement and it was quite cold compared to the 95-degree heat we were accustomed to. Although cold, it was still sunny and beautiful.
We arrived at the Alpenglow Conference Room where we met Missy, whom without knowing was already a follower of the Gypsy Givers. 
She gave us a summary of the program. The program includes grades K-5 “Green Team,” 6-8th grades “Eco-Action,” and 9-12 “Envirolution” clubs. They are sustainability clubs with interactive projects to empower them and be good global citizens. We love it! The Trashion Show is mostly run by the high schoolers to empower the younger students to conserve in the area of energy efficiency, water conservation, compost, and recycling. The Trashion Show consists of artistic outfits made from trash, that simple, but they each have a commentary piece sending a message of positive action.
We oversaw the rehearsal then helped them lineup and bring stuff over to the stage.
Our jobs as runners included tackling all the in-the-moment issues with a stylist kit in hand.
From NYC Fashion Week to Earth Day Trashion Show, we were in our element. The show was fantastic with choreography, powerful messages, and fashion.
It was really heart warming to see kids at this age raising awareness with passion.
We sat there watching and reminiscing about the many times in New York we would be working behind the scenes at fashion shows. We proudly stood there with kids as the frontrunners of a good cause.
One of the moms told us humbly that their kids are telling them at home what to do in terms of product consumption and recycling. That gives us hope for our future. After the show they had the March for Science led by the kids.
The March for Science was part of the series of rallies and marches all over the globe.
We ended our day at our favorite reminder of how beautiful Mother Earth is, Lake Tahoe.
The fresh, crisp air never felt so good. We took deep inhales and smiled, sadly realizing we forgot what fresh air was. As beautiful and amazing as Southeast Asia is the air quality is not the best. A realization as to just how important it is to take care of our Earth or that could become a worldwide problem. We continued enjoying Lake Tahoe for the rest of the weekend.
This weekend marked two years since we first laid eyes on her beauty and she still has the same affect on us. We gratefully stayed an extra night and counted our blessings with before we left.
To learn more about SWEP and donate, please visit https://4swep.org/what-we-do/.
To see more photos from the event:
gypsy givers 