Summerlanders will mark Earth Week next month with an assortment of activities and special events including gardening workshops, arts events and a street festival.
Earth Week events will be held from April 14 to 22.
Margaret Holler, one of the organizers of this year’s Earth Week events, said water and pollination are two of the main themes of the week’s events.
“We live in a water-rich country,” Holler sad. “We have a responsibility to protect it.
Canada has around seven per cent of the world’s renewable fresh water, placing it third in renewable fresh water resources behind Brazil and Russia.
Pollination is also important as bee colonies, which play a vital role in pollination, are disappearing in North America.
Barbara Thorburn, one of the organizers of this year’s Earth Week activities, said Summerland has a busier schedule of events than other B.C. communities, many of which have events on a single day.
“Ours just keeps building,” she said.
Holler said the array of Earth Week events is a result of active environmental organizations in the community.
“There are a number of groups which are very environmentally aware,” she said.
“So many organizations are interested in joining the initiatives.”
In addition, environmental concerns ranked high in a recent survey conducted by the municipality.
Earth Week events and activities are planned for almost every day from April 14 to 22.
Gardening and agricultural events include an irrigation workshop at Grasslands Nursery on April 14 and a bee hive building workshop and a drought tolerant tree tour on April 18.
The film Queen of the Sun, about declining bee populations, will be shown at Centre Stage Theatre on April 16.
The Philosophers’ Cafe on April 17 will feature a panel discussion about preserving land and water for agriculture.
The biggest events are on the weekend of April 20 to 22.
On Friday, April 20, a portion of Main Street will be closed for the Earth Week Street Festival.
The festival, from 3 to 6 p.m., includes activities, information booths and the ribbon cutting ceremony for the municipality’s electric vehicle charging stations.
There will also be a bin for people bringing electronic waste.
Saturday, April 21 features family day activities in the downtown area including the Imagination Station at the Summerland Art Gallery. From 1 to 4 p.m., there will be art projects for children of all ages.
Readings about bugs will take place under the red tent outside the Summerland Library on Wharton Street from 2:30 to 3 p.m.
At 3 and 3:30 p.m., Summerland Middle School students will stage a drama called The Simple Life, about recycling, reusing and reducing.
The seventh annual Earth Day Celebration will be at Dale Meadows Park on Sunday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This is sponsored by the Summerland Environmental Advisory Group.
Activities will include planting native trees and shrubs, face painting, crafts and more.
