Earthy extravaganza: Local organizations to host first Hands-On Earth Day
Posted on Friday, April 21, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/WhatsUp/39835/
This weekend Northwest Arkansans will get a chance to show just how much they dig the earth.
Audubon Arkansas, the OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology and the Ozark Headwaters Group of the Sierra Club are partnering to host the first Hands-On Earth Day, taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the 2 1/2-acre World Peace Wetland Prairie in south Fayetteville. The event will include musical entertainment by local duo Still on the Hill, an open mic, a picnic lunch and lots of playing in the dirt.
"We acquired the land last year as a group and announced it on Earth Day of last year, so this is our anniversary celebration," said Fran Free, education coordinator for Audubon Arkansas.
The land was obtained with the intent of restoring it to its native state and to provide a forum to educate residents about ecosystems that are endangered by development in the region. As such, two goals are on the agenda for Saturday, Free said.
"First is to prep the ground for spring plantings, for our butterfly garden and also for our international allée," she said.
The allée, which will be located next to the butterfly garden, will eventually be populated with trees that represent peace in other cultures such as Russian olives, cherries, figs and white pines.
The second priority is to eradicate invasive plants that have taken root in the wetland part of the property. For example, Japanese honeysuckle has overrun several native species. Some of the plants they hope to see replace the honeysuckle are the Indian paintbrush and the buttonbush, a woody plant that grows in the transition zone between creeks and uplands, Free said.
The event will kick off with Still on the Hill at 11 a.m., followed by activities at noon and an environmental open mic at 1 p.m. in which all are invited to sign up to share five-minute songs, poems or performance pieces about the environment.
Other activities will include a Wetlands 101 course taught by Chuck West of the University of Arkansas, who will discuss the restoration plan for the land, and a presentation by Dave Miller, a UA soil scientist. There will also be educational activities for children and guided tours of the prairie.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and blankets, as well as rakes, shovels, garden shears, clippers and gloves.