The community of Murray warmly welcomed a celebration of the Earth at the third annual Earth Day celebration Saturday at the Arboretum.
Organizing the event was a “collaborative effort” between Doran Arboretum and Four Rivers Watershed Sustainability Group, said Dava Hayden, arboretum manager.
The goal was to “enjoy the great outdoors and protect the great outdoors,” Hayden said.
The Earth Day celebration was a free event, open to people of all ages to learn about different means of sustainability, while being conscious about the inputs we were bringing into our environment.
While the previous years’ attendance was around 300, the estimated attendance prior to the event for this year was around 500.
Organizations set up stations to provide educational and interactive activities. Some of the initiatives or focuses of the tables were electric cars, weed and vegetation control, composting, the Kite Festival, propagation and rock painting.
One of these organizations was Alpha Mu Gamma, an honors society, which hosted a kite festival in which international students showcased their cultures and countries. Some of these countries included Costa Rica, France, Spain, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and the Congo.
Dr. Roxane Riegler, associate professor of French and German who was the faculty member who organized the kite festival, said the United States is a multicultural country, and allowing curious children to explore those cultures early on can change how generations interact with each other.
Grace Hanvey, AMG president, said the kite festival is to show how the different countries are using Earth Day.
“We want to showcase how (the countries) are using renewable energy in different aspects of their culture,” Hanvey said.
Hayden said the first step in getting people to better the environment is to simply enjoy the environment, and that was the goal of the Earth Day celebration. She said the event was attempt to “try to encourage people to enjoy the outdoors we have,”
Organizations thathad presentations at the arboretum illustrated more environmentally friendly methods of waste management and pest control.
“We’re trying to get people to think more sustainable rather than the traditional ways of gardening,” Hayden said.
Hayden said the Calloway County Soil Conservation District and the Sierra Club donated around 500 trees to be given away to attendees. Donations were being taken to support the Murray State Arboretum.
The event brought many families education about how our Earth functions and what can be done to make it a better place.
“There’s a lot of information out about how sick our planet is or ways we contribute to the decline of our climate, so we just want to set the record straight and make sure people aren’t looking at it as doomsday, but make sure they see it in a positive light,” Hayden said. “Everyone needs to be alert and aware of the little things that make a big difference to everyone in the community and our country.”
Hayden said if anyone is interested in being more involved with bettering the environment, specifically in the Murray State community, to contact her via email at dhayden6@murraystate.edu.
