Dozens of families turn out for St. Charles Earth Day festival

Rob and Keri Piercy are following the lead of President Obama and planting a garden this year.

The St. Charles couple also wanted to show their 4-year-old twins, Ethan and Faith, why it is important to respect the environment.

So visiting St. Charles Park District's Earth Day festival at Campton Hills Park was the perfect activity for them Saturday.

They picked up garden seeds and were one of dozens of families to plant small trees in the west side park.

"We're trying to do our part to produce our food locally," Rob Piercy said.

Added Keri Piercy: "It's the first time we've ever done a garden, so we wanted to get our kids interested."

Dozens of families turned out to learn more about how to protect the Earth, remove nonnative plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard from the forest, and plant trees and other seeds as part of a savanna restoration.

Michele Hunter and her two kids, Allyson, 10, and Riley, 5, planted a small White Oak and named it "George." Next to each tree, participants were able to pound a wooden stake in the ground and write their names on it so they could monitor their tree's progress.

After planting the tree, the Batavia family was going home to work in their own garden.

"We try to push saving the planet with them, not being so wasteful," the eldest Hunter said. "They really like doing it."

Samantha Jens and daughter Elyse, 4, of St. Charles, went to the event for the first time.

The elder Jens said it was never too early to increase awareness for her youngster. She added that it seems like more people these days want to go green and stay that way.

"They're making much more of an effort, and it's suddenly cool," Jens said. "There's a little bit of granola in everyone."