"During Wednesday's expo, we will be hosting tables and displays of businesses, nonprofits and government agencies, showing off what is being done to preserve and protect our environment, as well how volunteers can make every day Earth Day," said David Finacom of the city's Department of Environmental Services.

"We will be having hands-on games and fun freebies for those who come by, as well as demonstrations of electric vehicles, composting and other earth-friendly activities. We will have sign-up sheets and info on where to go on Saturday to take part in the community cleanups scheduled.

"Folks can also go to the city's Web site and find links to all of the cleanups; they are listed by council district."

There are close to 50 sites throughout the city scheduled to host Earth Day activities Saturday.

The Oakland Tours Program will be co-hosting a table with the Cultural Heritage Survey at Wednesday's expo. Contacting the survey office is a great way to learn more about the history of your house, block or neighborhood. An ongoing project of the city's Planning Department, the survey is actually a repository of information on all of the historic structures and landmarks in each council district.

Much of the content for the various walks sponsored by the tours program was developed with research provided by the survey's files. The two programs work together closely to further awareness of the city's rich architectural heritage. Survey coordinator Betty Marvin even leads tours from time to time.

Starting at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, there will be a free tour of the plaza and City Hall, lasting about 90 minutes. In addition to a look at architectural models showing the retrofitting of the Beaux Arts-style landmark City Hall, as well as the post-Loma Prieta earthquake expansion and renovation of the civic center complex, the tour will feature a behind-the-scenes peek at the City Council chamber, fully restored to its original elegance following the earthquake more than a decade ago.

Also on view during Wednesday's tour will be displays in the Dalziel Building lobby (next to City Hall) showing three decades of neighborhood revitalization work throughout Oakland, made possible with federal Community Development Block Grants. One organization involved in these annual cleanups is Rebuilding Together Oakland (formerly known as Christmas in April), part of a national network of volunteers who take on rehab projects in communities with older, often rundown residential neighborhoods.

One of the past year's projects in the West Oakland district surrounding Herbert Hoover School, on one block of 31st Street between West and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, involved more than 350 volunteers who spent an entire day repainting, relandscaping and removing debris, graffiti and weeds.

Other displays on view show the ongoing work of the block grant-funded Neighborhood Commercial Revitalization and Mainstreet Programs currently under way throughout the city.

The Oakland Tours Program regular tour schedule starts the first Saturday in May. The free walking tours continue Wednesdays and Saturdays through October and include visits to Chinatown, Jack London Square, uptown and Preservation Park. To receive a copy of the schedule in the mail, call the tour's 24-hour hot line, 238-3234.

For information on Wednesday's Earth Expo and Saturday's Earth Day cleanups, call 434-5139, or log on to www.keepoaklandbeautiful.org . The Rebuilding Together Oakland team of volunteers will also be out working this coming weekend. Call 625-0316 or visit the Web site, www.RebuildingTogetherOakland.org, to learn more.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email