The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County invites residents from Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties and beyond to become inspired, educated and entertained at the 2012 Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration. Supported by generous sponsors, the 2012 event will be held inside for the very first time, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21, in the Expo East and 4-H buildings of the Porter County Expo Center, 215 E. Division Rd., Valparaiso.
Admission and parking for the event are free. The seventh annual Celebration features two live animal shows at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and the return of the Recycle Cycle, a silly contraption made out of reused items. Other programs taking the stage range from greening your grass, to greening your home, dealing with lost wildlife babies, qigong, alternative fuel vehicles, and more.
With almost 70 exhibitors and many offering children’s activities, there is something interesting for everyone at the event to learn about the planet and what they can do to help reduce their impact on it.
Highlights of the event include Build Your Own Birdhouse by Ducks Unlimited; 105.5 FM live broadcast; appearances by the district’s Glen the Garbologist, Smokey Bear, NIRPC’s Splash, Porter County Wildlife’s Rocky Raccoon, and Hooper the Hobart Caterpillar; free reusable bags to the first 300 families; shredding of confidential papers by Opportunity Enterprises' Secure Shred; free tree saplings for completed event surveys; alternative fuel vehicle display by South Shore Clean Cities; silent auction to support environmental education; “bingo” game for a chance to win a bicycle; free teacher resources at the District’s table; and much more.
Exhibitors and vendors include Au Naturel Market, Champion Windows, Coffee Creek Watershed, Friends of the Dunes, Gia Wellness, Gibson Woods Chapter Wild Ones Native Plants, Greatlakes Greyhounds, GrowNWI, Healthy Living Solutions, Hen Duck Meow, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana Dunes State Park, Indiana Gourd Society, U.S. Aquaponics Association, Moraine Ridge Wildlife, Mothering By Nature, NIPSCO, NIRPC, NWI Green Building Alliance, NWI Paddling Association, Recycled Granite - My Choice Recycling, Republic, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and many, many more.
For a complete listing of programs and exhibitors, visit the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County’s website, www.ItMeanstheWorld.org or call 219-465-3819 for more information.
The 2012 Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration is supported by the following generous sponsors: NIPSCO; Northern Indiana Regional Planning Commission; Pratt Industries; Lakeshore Public Television; Your Values Magazine; Duneland 28; Republic Services; Robins & Morton; Tradebe Pollution Control Industries, Inc.; Century 21 Alliance Group; IDNR State Forestry; Lan-Cam; LaPorte Savings Bank; and Pharma-Card Management Services, Inc. Financial support also provided by Indiana Dunes Tourism.