Earth Day festivities draw attention to outdoors
Taylor Pogue, 3, of Neosho, visited Roaring River State Park over the weekend with her grandparents, Mike and Kim Pogue. Above, Taylor is feeling various animal furs and identifying them with the help of Nature Center staff as part of their Earth Day activities.
April 27, 2016
Charlea Estes
Last Friday, April 22, marked Earth Day, the annual day dedicated to preserving the environment for generations to come. All across the world, communities and groups give their time and energy into efforts educating the public and cleaning up the environment.
Locally, Roaring River State Parks’ Chinquapin Nature Center hosted their own Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 23. At the Nature Center, staff were on site to help children with animal identification, including getting to feel various furs, as well mud buckets filled with things to dig for and the regular exhibits within the center.
Around 200 people visited the Nature Center and took advantage of the education program. The Missouri Conservation Department also had free trees for people to take home and plant in honor of the day, as well.
Earth Day was first started in 1970 as a political movement. Over the years, it has grown into an annual event that brings people together to talk about environmental issues and make a difference within their individual communities.
Areas like the Nature Center are great places to encourage people into thinking about how their actions impact the environment and conservation efforts. Part of the focus of Earth Day is to draw attention to activities that are leading to additional greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to climate change.
However, local efforts are much less globally oriented and help people become aware of their local ecosystems and animals and how to keep the environment clean through trash pick up, cleaner living practices and attention to small steps that make the world a better place for years and generations to come.
Charlea Estes
Last Friday, April 22, marked Earth Day, the annual day dedicated to preserving the environment for generations to come. All across the world, communities and groups give their time and energy into efforts educating the public and cleaning up the environment.
Locally, Roaring River State Parks’ Chinquapin Nature Center hosted their own Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 23. At the Nature Center, staff were on site to help children with animal identification, including getting to feel various furs, as well mud buckets filled with things to dig for and the regular exhibits within the center.
Around 200 people visited the Nature Center and took advantage of the education program. The Missouri Conservation Department also had free trees for people to take home and plant in honor of the day, as well.
Earth Day was first started in 1970 as a political movement. Over the years, it has grown into an annual event that brings people together to talk about environmental issues and make a difference within their individual communities.
Areas like the Nature Center are great places to encourage people into thinking about how their actions impact the environment and conservation efforts. Part of the focus of Earth Day is to draw attention to activities that are leading to additional greenhouse gas emissions and their contribution to climate change.
However, local efforts are much less globally oriented and help people become aware of their local ecosystems and animals and how to keep the environment clean through trash pick up, cleaner living practices and attention to small steps that make the world a better place for years and generations to come.