Family-Friendly Events Celebrate Mother Nature On Earth Day

By Kurt A. Eichsteadt
Editorial Assistant

It’s been 38 years since Earth Day was created, catching a rising tide of growing concern about the environment and marking the beginning of the modern environmental movement

Today, millions of people around the world participate. Long Beach has an extensive slate of its own events spread over two weeks, all taking place in observance of Earth Day, which is April 22.

First up, The Aquarium of the Pacific hosts “Earth Day Celebration: A Celebration of Our Ocean Planet,” April 12 and 13. (It’s early because the aquarium is closed the following weekend for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach). The goal of the aquarium’s events is to illustrate in fun and exciting ways how a person’s daily activities affect the world and what individuals can do to conserve resources and the environment.

More than a dozen green organizations will be present, including the Marine Mammal Care Center, American Cetacean Society and Heal the Bay. Earth Day events are free with aquarium admission, which is $20.95 for adults, $11.95 for ages 3-11 and $17.95 for seniors 62 and older. The aquarium is at 100 Aquarium Way and the Web site is www.aquariumofpacific.org.

The El Dorado Nature Center will host two days of activities on April 19 and 20. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 19, volunteers will be on the trails in the nature center to answer questions about plants, insects, pond dwellers and birds. On Sunday, April 20, everyone is invited to a potluck and picnic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vegetarian dishes are encouraged. The El Dorado Nature Center is at 7550 E. Spring St.

The Friends of the Colorado Lagoon are presenting two days of activities in their second annual Earth Day Event. From 8 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 18, they will do a beach seine, collecting, studying and returning whatever marine animals are found. Later that evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. there will be a mixer and presentations on Birds and Rehab and Urban Wildlands. Starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19, there will be wetland cleanup, followed by nature walks, games and educational displays throughout the day. For more information, go to www.cololadolagoon.org or call 331-0226.

Earth Day activities continue at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro beginning with a beach clean-up starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. Supplies and refreshments will be furnished. From 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the action moves to the aquarium’s courtyard, where representatives of more than 40 local and national environmental organizations and government agencies will be on-hand. The day will include activities for children, guided walks of the adjacent salt marsh (Salinas de San Pedro), grunion egg hatching, presentations in the auditorium, live music and more.

Admission is free and the Cabrillo Aquarium is at 3720 Stephen White Dr. in San Pedro. Parking on the beach is $1. Free parking with shuttle service is available at a lot at 22nd Street and Miner, near the Marina terminal of the Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line.

And, as part of the Earth Day observation, the Cabrillo Aquarium is conducting an Earth Day Poster Contest for children. The deadline for entries is March 28 and details are available at www.cabrilloaq.org or by calling (310) 548-7562, ext. 217. Winners will be announced on April 19.

Also Saturday, April 19, there is the Children’s Day and Earth Day Celebration from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Recreation Park, 4900 E. Seventh St. There will be live entertainment all day, games and crafts, educational activities and a children’s parade inside the park beginning at 1 p.m. For more information, go to www.childrensday.net.

Finally, on Saturday, April 26, the city of Long Beach hosts “Long Beach Honors Earth Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Recreation Park. Most of the city’s environmental organizations are participating (SurfRider, EcoLink, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Aquarium of the Pacific and others) and the Fire Department will be on hand to cook hot dogs.

It’s a family-oriented event designed with kids in mind: touch tanks, games and other activities are planned. There will be classes throughout the day on things like landscape design and how it affects the environment and the coastline; water-wise plants, tours of the Colorado Lagoon and more.

The Web site www.earthday.net is the official site of Earth Day. It offers plenty of information on the event and its history. The federal government also operates a Web site, www.earthday.gov, that offers information on events and steps individuals can take to help the environment.m