Some 40 Lawrence children will perform in “Jedi Knights and Galactic Princesses: The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted,” including: Margaret Uhler, back, and front row, from left, Carson Stucky as Princess Lake'ah, Lila Alvarado as Princess Eartha and Zoe Prather as Airia.

Forget about recycling, conserving energy and all that for just a sec.

Some Lawrence kids and their dance instructors have a more fun way of saving the Earth: Galactic Princesses and Jedi Knights!

It’s pretty simple really, explains one of the dancers, 5-year-old Luke Havener.

“The Jedi Knights and Galactic Princesses make the Earthvaders stop polluting, and then the Earthvaders turn into Galactic Princesses or Jedi Knights,” he says. “It teaches that if you pollute the earth you’ll have a bad consequence.”

Sydney Johnston, 7, agrees: “The earth is really important to all of us, so I think we should all take care of it.”

Says Isabelle Kennedy, 6: “We still want the earth to be filled with things that we need like bushes, sweet air and food.”

And Trey Kelly, 8: “If everybody helps out, the birds will fly around and everyone will be happy.”

You can see these kids and some 35 others stage their battle for the environment at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Lawrence Arts Center.

It’s in no small part a production straight from the kids, says adult co-director Paige Comparato.

“The kids are involved in the process from beginning to end. They contributed to the storyline and help develop the title, they’ve developed their characters, and they’ll be doing some of the set work and working on their costumes, and they helped develop the choreography,” Comparato says.

“The kids have a lot of ideas, and it’s a creative bunch — which is part of what’s so great about these programs,” she says.

That includes having lots of ideas about the real-life, actual ways to save the planet.

“They’re surprisingly very aware of green practices,” says Comparato. “They had lots of ideas about recycling and what they could recycle … walking or riding bikes instead of taking cars, composting, not littering, picking up trash, not using chemicals on plants, organic foods — it was a pretty broad range,” she says. “It’s really remarkable, and I think it’s a product of the town we live in-our community is pretty well aware.”

This special Earth Day production by the Peanut, Pretzel, Popcorn Companies, which is also co-directed by Candi Baker and Molly Gordon, will feature their first collaboration with the center’s high-school aged dance company, the Performance Jazz Ensemble.

Isabelle Kennedy

Isabelle Kennedy, 6

Why is Earth Day important? Earth Day is important because they are making trees into paper towels at my school and we are trying to make them stop.

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? I hope they will learn that they shouldn’t pollute or throw trash on the ground when they take a hike or something.

What do you do to help save the Earth? Riding my scooter and picking trash up off of the ground. Instead of going on a trip we should stay home because planes pollute sometimes.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? Ride my bike instead of taking the car.

Sam Cast

Sam Cast, 6

Why is Earth Day important? Because people are throwing out trash, because it’s a time for Earth to be clean.

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? Don’t throw trash on the ground and to keep the earth clean and it is good to have the Earth clean.

What do you do to help save the Earth? Pick trash off the ground and throw it in the trash can.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? Picking up trash in every place.

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? Weather.

Trey Kelly

Trey Kelly, 8

Why is Earth Day important? Because the Earth is beautiful and we want the animals to be safe.

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? The Jedi Knights and Galactic Princesses are very kind and they help the Earth.

What do you do to help save the Earth? We recycle and pick up trash. Sometimes I plant trees and plants. I’m a vegetarian so I don’t eat animals.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? I ride my bike a lot but maybe I could ride it more.

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? If everybody helps out… We won’t use much gas.

Sydney Johnston

Sydney Johnston, 7

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? That they should all really take care of the Earth and not pollute.

What do you do to help save the Earth? We recycle empty bottles, cans, cardboard and newspapers.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? Turning off lights when I leave the room. Yeah, that’s hard for me to remember to do.

Freddy Comparato

Freddy Comparato, 8

Why is Earth Day important? It’s a time that people help to make the earth clean.

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? I think that people will learn that polluting is bad.

What do you do to help save the Earth? At school, I pick up trash.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? Ride a bike instead of ride in a car on a cold day.

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? Make cars that run on sunlight instead of gas.

Siren Holland

Siren Holland, 8

Why is Earth Day important? Celebrating Earth day is good because it helps keep the Earth strong. If we recycle, reduce and reuse, that helps us keeping to improve our environment.

Margaret Uhler

Margaret Uhler, 9

What do you hope people will learn from “The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? When you finish a can of soda, start a recycling bin, when you finish a jug of milk, start a plastic recycling bin, and not to pollute the Earth.

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? It will depend on whether or not people take it up a notch in taking care of the Earth.

Kate O'Keefe

Kate O’Keefe, 6

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? I think it will get better by people making sure that the Earth is clean. The Earth helps us survive. The Force keeps us safe and helps us be strong enough to stop evil. If we all use The Force inside us, there will be no pollution.

Luke Havener

Luke Havener, 5

Why is Earth Day important? Because it’s a day to clean up the earth. Because it’s good for the earth.

What do you do to help save the Earth? I don’t litter; I throw away my trash. I recycle things. I put stuff in the compost. I don’t put oil in rivers.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the Earth, but you find it hard to do? When I see something yucky on the ground, I don’t pick it up when I should, because it’s yucky.

Joe O'Keefe

Joe O’Keefe, 5

What do you do to help save the Earth? I recycle instead of throw things away to keep the Earth clean.  If people leave trash on the floor, I pick it up and show my mom.

Stella Holland

Stella Holland, 5

What do you do to help save the Earth? By eating healthy foods from the Merc and not pollute, and NOT put fire on houses!

Max Cast

Max Cast, 7

Why is Earth Day important? Because to remember to clean up the earth.

What do you hope people will learn from The Fight 2 NOTB Polluted”? Don’t pollute earth.

What do you do to help save the earth? Reuse stuff. My brother does this a lot-he reuses old boxes to make Lego houses.

What’s something you could be doing to help save the earth, but you find it hard to do? To remember to clean trash off the ground. It’s hard for me to remember to do that.

What will make the difference about whether our environment starts improving or continues to get worse? Make signs to help people remember.