City’s Earth Day events begin today

The city’s weeklong celebration of the earth culminates with the Earth Day Parade and Celebration in South Park on April 23.

But Lawrence’s Earth Day celebration kicks off at 9 a.m. today with a cleanup at Clinton Lake. Volunteers will meet at Shelter No. 1 at Overlook Park. A cookout will follow the cleanup.

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“We usually expect between 200 to 400 people to help with the cleanup,” said Kipp Walters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park ranger. “It’s kind of a fun little day.”

Earth Day is Friday. But several groups are involved with activities throughout the week, said Diana Sjogren, waste reduction specialist for the city.

“I think that people rally around Earth Day because they realize it’s our home and it’s something to think about and to save,” Sjogren said. “Earth Day provides a way for people to show their care and love for the earth.”

For today’s cleanup, volunteers are assigned different areas of the park to pick up litter. After picking up trash, they return to the shelter and sort the trash that can be recycled.

There will be a contest for the strangest piece of trash found.

“I remember we had a typewriter one year,” Walters said.

The following are activities planned for the week involving Earth Day:Monday¢ Presentation by Penn State University professor Craig Humphrey, an expert in environmental sociology, at 7 p.m. in the Jayhawk Room of the Kansas Union. For more information contact the KU Environs at 864-7325.Tuesday¢ KU Recycling will be sorting trash from Wescoe Hall on the Stauffer-Flint lawn to find out how much of what is currently thrown away could actually be recycled. The trash audit will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.Thursday¢ Lada Salon and Spa is partnering with other businesses to host a fashion show to benefit the Haskell-Baker Wetlands Preservation Organization group. A silent auction precedes the show. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the salon or at The Granada, 1020 Mass. The silent auction begins at 7 p.m., and the fashion show starts at 8 p.m.Friday¢ From 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Seed Savers’ Exchange director Kent Whealy will give a gardeners’ workshop in Building 21 at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. The cost is $10 per person.¢ At 7 p.m. there will be a presentation called “Rescuing Heirloom Food Crops. The presentation is free and will be given in the Courtside Room at KU’s Burge Union.¢ From 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., an earth day event will be held for schools at the Prairie Park Nature Center, 2730 Harper St. Reservations are required and those interested should contact the nature center at 832-7980.¢ At 6 p.m., there will be a ceremony for the Imagination & Place Environmental Award. The award will honor an outstanding local business for making a positive impact on the environment. The ceremony will be at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H.April 23¢ The 5th Annual Earth Day Parade begins at 10:45 a.m. and will travel south on Massachusetts Street from Watson Park to South Park. Parade registration is free and people interested should e-mail ParadeForTheEarth@LawrenceKS.org or call 843-0103.¢ From noon to 4 p.m., Celebration in the Park will happen in South Park. The event features live music, games and food.¢ From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Prairie Park Nature Center will hold Earth Day activities.¢ From 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Lawrence Transit System will offer free rides.