Local nonprofits and businesses are coming together Saturday, April 22 for the annual Family Earth Day Celebration.
Activities and booths will take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Hayes Arboretum, 601 Elks Road, Richmond.
Those attending will be able to take home trees and shrubs, wildflower and milkweed seeds, coloring books and collapsible metal straws, according to Teri Grossman, organizer. Several organizations will have booths with handouts.
Scheduled speakers and programs include a welcome by Hayes Arboretum at 10:30 a.m.; an animal show by Animal Care Alliance at 11 a.m.; a talk, “Solarize Indiana,” by John Vann, about the need to switch from gas to electric at 11:30 a.m.; a presentation about Richmond’s Climate Action Plan by Alison Zajdel, who chaired a committee that developed the plan, at noon; a talk by Pat Smoker, director of the Richmond Sanitation District at 12:30 p.m.; and an animal show by Animal Care Alliance at 1 p.m.
Booths include Woods on Wheels (provided by Indiana Department of Natural Resources), Cope Environmental Center, Richmond Parks and Recreation, Girl Scouts, Sandy Creek Alpacas, Eco Friendly Partnership, Centerville Green Club, Girls Inc., Ivy Tech Community College, IU East, Earlham College and its Joseph Moore Museum of Natural History, the Eastern Indiana Beekeepers, the Wayne County Soil and Water Conservation District and Cardinal Greenway. The Wayne County Invasive Plant Education and Removal program (WIPER) and Southern Indiana Cooperative Invasive Management will be represented.
Programs and the giveaways are offered at no charge because of donations from many sponsoring groups, Grossman said. Sponsors include Alpek Polyester, a recycling company; NATCO Credit Union; Meijer; First Bank; and Warm Glow.
Earth Day has been celebrated since 1970 on April 22 as a day to show support for protecting and preserving the natural environment upon which life depends.
A version of this article appeared in the April 19 2023 print edition of the Western Wayne News.