Public invited to participate in April 22 activities at sites in three states
April 16, 2024
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People from around the world celebrate Earth Day every year on April 22 to recognize humankind’s collective environmental achievements, raise awareness, and promote ecological sustainability. This year, the Office of Legacy Management (LM) is participating in activities at LM interpretive centers and at a variety of local events and festivities.
LM and LM Support Partner staff will lead tours and Earth Day-themed demonstrations and explain interpretive center exhibits at the Fernald Preserve Visitors Center near Hamilton, Ohio; the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center in St. Charles, Missouri; and the Atomic Legacy Cabin in Grand Junction, Colorado.
“LM and Earth Day go together like a hand in a glove. Every year we get this wonderful opportunity to share our story of stewardship,” LM ECHO Project Communications Specialist Christine Jost said.
Student engagement is a key part of STEM with LM. This year, Earth Jam at Cincinnati State takes place April 18 at the Cincinnati State Technical and Community College Clifton Campus in Ohio. The Fernald Preserve Visitors Center will have a display about STEM careers and Fernald Preserve’s remediation story.
LMSP Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center Manager Jamie Hubert and LMSP Education Programs Manager Kevin McCarthy will represent LM at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Earth Day celebration April 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Jefferson City, Missouri. The department has organized an annual Earth Day celebration since 1994, bringing agencies and groups from across the state together to provide fun, interactive educational activities for kids from all over Missouri. For children who like to learn how they can make the world a better place, this event has a range of fun, useful activities. This free annual event typically features live lectures, recycled-item crafts, stage games with prizes, and any number of hands-on learning activities.
Once again, Fernald Preserve will participate in the Cincinnati Earth Day event April 27 at Blue Ash Summit Park in Cincinnati, alongside local music, local vegetarian food and refreshments, activities, environmental education presentations, and more than 125 exhibitors. This year, Fernald will share the U.S. Department of Energy’s restoration story about a former nuclear site that is now home to hundreds of wildlife species. Fernald’s Earth Day booth will show videos and provide hands-on activities about the 1,052-acre wildlife preserve.
April 20-28, the Fernald Preserve Visitors Center will share LM’s everyday environmental stewardship message and put on a plastic versus planet display to demonstrate plastic bottle reuse and inspire visitors to think about how they can reuse single-use plastics.
This year, Southwest Arbor Fest in Grand Junction, Colorado, is April 27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lincoln Park. It’s a fun, family-friendly, outdoor event with exhibitors, live music, food trucks, and refreshments. Festival goers can pick up free tree seedlings (while supplies last) and take part in a range of tree, plant, and recycling activities. This is the second year LM has participated in the festival — at this year’s booth, LM and support staff will talk with visitors about the importance of preserving the desert ecology of the Southwest while highlighting Colorado Plateau ecology and geology. Booth visitors can investigate pelts, skulls, and rocks.
The Atomic Legacy Cabin booth at the 2023 Southwest Arbor Fest at Lincoln Park in Grand Junction, Colorado, for Earth Day. LMSP Interpretive Specialist Ashton Peterhans (left) talks with festival goers while LM Supervisory General Engineer Paul Kerl and LM General Engineer Stephen Pitton look on.
The Atomic Legacy Cabin in Grand Junction will have an Earth Day display April 15-26 in the cabin’s foyer that includes earth-friendly at-home activities. Interpretive center visitors can stop by to learn how to plant native seeds in their gardens and upcycle plastic bottles into systems to grow plants. Find more earth-friendly at-home activities at STEM with LM.
While much of the world celebrates Earth Day one day a year, for LM, every day is Earth Day. From protecting natural habitats to routine sampling and monitoring at many LM sites, long-term environmental stewardship is an ongoing commitment and our daily mission.