In preparation for Earth Day on Sunday, Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction welcomed the community on Saturday to the Porter County Expo Center to celebrate the 13th Annual Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration.
“Its really a day to connect people with the environment and environmental organizations,” said Donna Stuckert, Public Education Coordinator for Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction, and one of the event organizers for the Earth Day celebration.
Stuckert mentioned the tremendous growth that the celebration has seen since its inception 13 years ago, back when it was hosted at Camp Lawrence. Ongoing growth as well as unreliable weather conditions, though, have made the Expo Center the next best location for the event.
“One of the most important aspects of the day, though, is that it’s really all about education, and learning about different ways to reduce your impact on the planet,” Stuckert said. “You want to expose kids early to this kind of stuff, so they know they have just as much power and impact as their parents do.”
The Porter County Recycling & Waste Reduction team involved young people in the environmentally-conscious conversation this year by continuing the Rain Barrel Competition, which is on its fifth year at the NWI Earth Day Celebration. The competition gives local elementary, middle, and high schools the chance to represent their school by decorating the best-looking rain barrel.
“I love the one with the kids’ handprints, but really all of them are amazing, and the colors are just so bright and vibrant.” said Rosalinda Venhuizen, who was there appreciating the art with her family. “I’m just in awe. It’s beautiful, and I love how it helps kids to learn about the environment a little more, especially nowadays when there’s just so much waste [in the world].”
Just around the corner from the Rain Barrel Competition was another creative exhibit, Rethink Art, which featured a walk-through display of art sculptures constructed from soda cans, scrap metal, plastic, and other items normally found at the bottom of the trash.
“This little exhibit really tries to encourage both adults and children to view stuff differently, and shows how instead of discarding something, we can make something new,” said Therese Haller, Executive Director for Recycling and Waste Reduction District. “Everyone knows what recycling is, but we still have to be reminded all the time, which is why today is family-focused so both parents and their children can go home and really think together about how they can improve their relationship with the earth.”
The day’s events and attractions also included a variety of interactive on-stage performances, including a live animal show from Indianapolis-based Silly Safaris.
“We love to show all the kids these awesome animals. It just gives them that sense of wonder, and helps them learn something new so they can help the wildlife and the whole world in the long run,” said Coyote Chris from Silly Safaris.
Chris wowed the audience with reptiles, mammals, birds and bugs, and gave everyone the opportunity to come meet the animals after the show. Another popular act that followed Silly Safaris was Dumpster Drummers, a three-man group that showed off their homemade recycled instruments, which included a drum set made of coffee cans, garbage bins, and old sewer pipes.
Before the live shows, the main viewing area was dedicated to the public premiere of the film “Common Ground, Common Water” by Dr. Sarah Church, a research scientist from Purdue University who has long had an interest in water quality.
“This video is really just showing how water is a shared resource, because we all want good water quality and we’re all willing to do something about it,” Church said. “It shows some of the ways people like farmers, urban homeowners, and businesses are making a positive impact in protecting our water resource.”
Church’s 12-minute film was created from a year’s worth of interviews and years of ongoing research.
“We had hours and hours and hours of footage that we had to go through, and we’re working on cutting it down to a two-minute social media video so we can keep spreading the word,” said Church, who encourages people to go to iwrcc.org to view the full 12-minute feature if they missed the premiere.
"It’s heartening to be at an event where everyone is so likeminded in the understanding that how we interact with our environment is critical and that they are interested in an event like this to seek out companies that can assist them in their goal of sustainability," said Neil Samahon, CEO at Metro Recycling.
During breaks between the onstage entertainment, most families spent their time wandering through the seemingly endless maze of vendors who were present selling eco-friendly products. Some of the businesses included Metro Recycling, Nipsco, and Pratt Recycling.
“What Pratt makes is 100-percent recycled boxes,” said Carla Heminger, who works for Pratt’s Midwest Recycling Division. “It’s great to see so many people come out today, because it’s great to spread that awareness of local companies and even individuals who all working together toward sustainability.”
For more information about Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction, please visit http://www.portercountyrecycling.org/.