Go Green at the Sixth Annual Earth Day Youth Fair

The Des Plaines Park District and the Des Plaines Environmental and Energy Program, (DEEP Green), will sponsor the 6th Annual Earth Day Youth Fair on Saturday, April 20, from 1:00-4:00pm at the Cumberland Terrace field house, 426 S. Warrington Road. Children of all ages are invited to make craft projects using recycled materials, add a leaf to the Earth Day Dream Tree, plant a bean, learn about community recycling drives, and receive a free 6” evergreen plant. The Coast Guard Auxiliary will also be at the fair to talk about protecting our waterways and recreational boat safety.

The Des Plaines Park District has a long history of environmental stewardship. A full recycling program has been implemented at the Administrative and Leisure Center, Prairie Lakes Community Center, Golf Center Des Plaines, and Oakwood Maintenance Facility. At Prairie Lakes, low and no mow areas were designed, and a prairie grass and flower garden was planted to save on gas for the mowing equipment. The Park District also committed to a policy of using no phosphorous fertilizers on the open grassy areas and soccer fields and switched to an organic fertilizer for the Mystic Waters grounds and the baseball/softball fields at Rand Park. When the new Chippewa Pool opens this June, the pool will have

a special filter that will save thousands of gallons of water and reduce energy costs. New fluorescent lighting is being installed that uses less electricity and has an instant on/off capability, which allows the lights to be turned on when they are needed without any warm up time. Recycle bins will also be installed at the pool for paper, plastic, and cans.

“The Earth Day Youth Fair is a way to raise awareness of the benefits of recycling and help families make being green a part of their daily living,” said Linda Traina, Superintendent of Recreation and leader of the Park District's Green Team. “At the Park District, everyday is recycling day, and staff is always generating new ideas and suggestions to help reduce, reuse and recycle," said Traina.

For more information about programs and events at the Des Plaines Park District call 847-391-5700 or visit www.DPParks.org.