One of the biggest reasons to celebrate Earth Day in the Triangle is the 5,500-acre forest smack-dab in the middle of it: Umstead State Park.

Saturday, the park's trails will be the focus of attention at the 2007 Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead. This annual fundraiser by the Umstead Coalition generates about $10,000 a year for the park, money used for environmental education, land acquisition and control of invasive plants -- that is, plants that aren't native to the park and can upset the natural balance of things.

The run and walk are administered by the Carolina Godiva Track Club. Awards will be given to the top finishers in several categories. The bike rides -- of 3 and 7 miles -- are tours led by members of the Triangle Off-Road Cyclists, a local mountain bike club.

Pay to walk/run/bike but you can also raise money by shaking the pockets of friends and family. As added incentive, Great Outdoor Provision Co. will give gift cards equal to 10 percent of how much you raise: raise $50 (the minimum to qualify), get a $5 gift card.

Info

What: 2007 Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead.

When: Saturday. Registration and packet pickup begins at 8 a.m.; the guided bike tours at 10 a.m.; the walk/run at 10:15 a.m. Live music on stage (Larry Nixon, David Blevins, Steven Gage, Brien Barbour and Bett Padgett) from 11:15 a.m. until 2 p.m. Live music will play along the route.

Where: Umstead State Park, Raleigh. The main festival area is just outside the park, on private farmland at Reedy Creek and Trenton roads.

Parking: Arrive before 9:30 a.m. or after 10:30 a.m. and you can park at the site. (Because the road in is part of the route, no cars are allowed in or out between 9:30 and 10:30.)

Cost: Watching is free. Runners/walkers/bikers are requested to pay a $35 donation ($15 for kids 12 and younger).

More info: 852-2268, http://umsteadcoalition.org.

View It

"It's Easy Being Green" is a one-hour special created and produced by Raleigh-based Distillery Pictures. Don't worry, says Distillery's Scott Myers, this isn't a show for "treehuggers."

"We wanted to do a show for people like me that are doing nothing more than recycling," he says. "We said, let's make it fun and entertaining. We want to let people know that you don't have to sacrifice your lifestyle to adopt green practices."

In fact, Myers says, the show proves small decisions can make a difference. How small? One segment focuses on Larry Larson, owner of Raleigh's Larry's Bean, a self-proclaimed coffee geek who, after a trip to Mexico, decided to sell fair-trade coffee. His story shows how just choosing organic coffee means a move away from pesticides and other toxins that hurt the earth.

Other local fare makes an appearance. The show visits the Scrap Exchange in Durham, Raleigh's Global Village organic coffee shop and the green home of Jonathan and Eva Phillips in North Raleigh.

Other segments include an electric sports car that's faster than a Porsche, purses and handbags made from repurposed candy wrappers, and a fashion feature called "Sustainable Style."

Info

What: "It's Easy Being Green"

Where: Fine Living Network (Time Warner channel 151, DirecTV channel 232, Dish Network channel 113)

When: 10 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and May 12.

Who: Larry Larson, Jonathan and Eva Phillips, actor Owen Wilson, motorcycle maven Jesse James, rock band Guster, musician Alanis Morissette.

Also: "The Green" on the Sundance Channel, a new weekly primetime series, that airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. On April 24, the episode "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Build" looks at green homes, including a developer bringing green buildings and amenities to low-income neighborhoods and an MIT graduate working on a home, grown from living trees.

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