There’s something about getting hands dirty while gardening that seems to click with young kids.
Volunteer Stephanie Dewar found out firsthand during the Charlottetown Family Earth Expo hosted by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter at the P.E.I. Farm Centre Saturday.
“They love getting their hands in the soil, it’s hard to get them out of it sometimes,” said Dewar, who was showing youngsters how to plant sunflowers. “But it’s really great to get people excited about gardening, especially young kids.”
The expo was an all-ages event featuring information booths, live music, children’s activities and presentations focusing on green living and environmental awareness.
While last year’s event saw kids plant their sunflowers along the side of the building, this year they were free to take them home to continue growing.
“They get really excited,” said Dewar, who also helped with the legacy garden established behind the farm centre last year.
She had focused on production from the goodwill garden, which saw more than 11 thousand pounds of vegetables harvested for the Salvation Army, Charlottetown Food Bank and Anderson House.
Volunteer organizer Tony Reddin, of the P.E.I. Sierra Club, said the event gave an opportunity for a diverse range of Islanders to join together in learning about and acting on environmental issues.
“It’s more kind of a celebration for this time of year,” said Reddin. “We can throw off the winter blahs and think about all the wonderful growth that’s going to happen and, at the same time, look at ways we can protect P.E.I.”
Reddin said the event had a large variety of themes around using less energy, resisting the development of fracking, growing organic food and using non-toxic items.
Presentations focused on the Blue Dot movement for an “Environmental Bill of Rights”, the current state of the blue whale in Atlantic Canada, electric cars and a session on Dutch Elm disease.
Volunteer Brittany Jay, who is also a Holland College Wildlife Conservation Technology student, helped answer questions on the disease at an Island Nature Trust booth.
Part of the booth was also aimed at engaging children in the environment, such as showing them how owl pellets can be dissected.
“You don’t really see a lot of events like this so it’s good to see people out, asking questions about what they can do to help,” said Jay. “But also to see the kids here so interested is just great because you know there will be a future generation wanting to be outside and wanting to help animals.”
Reddin also thanked volunteers and participants and noted that donations from the event will go towards the Sierra Club P.E.I.’s initiatives such as the Wild Child program.
There’s something about getting hands dirty while gardening that seems to click with young kids.
Volunteer Stephanie Dewar found out firsthand during the Charlottetown Family Earth Expo hosted by the Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter at the P.E.I. Farm Centre Saturday.
“They love getting their hands in the soil, it’s hard to get them out of it sometimes,” said Dewar, who was showing youngsters how to plant sunflowers. “But it’s really great to get people excited about gardening, especially young kids.”
The expo was an all-ages event featuring information booths, live music, children’s activities and presentations focusing on green living and environmental awareness.
While last year’s event saw kids plant their sunflowers along the side of the building, this year they were free to take them home to continue growing.
“They get really excited,” said Dewar, who also helped with the legacy garden established behind the farm centre last year.
She had focused on production from the goodwill garden, which saw more than 11 thousand pounds of vegetables harvested for the Salvation Army, Charlottetown Food Bank and Anderson House.
Volunteer organizer Tony Reddin, of the P.E.I. Sierra Club, said the event gave an opportunity for a diverse range of Islanders to join together in learning about and acting on environmental issues.
“It’s more kind of a celebration for this time of year,” said Reddin. “We can throw off the winter blahs and think about all the wonderful growth that’s going to happen and, at the same time, look at ways we can protect P.E.I.”
Reddin said the event had a large variety of themes around using less energy, resisting the development of fracking, growing organic food and using non-toxic items.
Presentations focused on the Blue Dot movement for an “Environmental Bill of Rights”, the current state of the blue whale in Atlantic Canada, electric cars and a session on Dutch Elm disease.
Volunteer Brittany Jay, who is also a Holland College Wildlife Conservation Technology student, helped answer questions on the disease at an Island Nature Trust booth.
Part of the booth was also aimed at engaging children in the environment, such as showing them how owl pellets can be dissected.
“You don’t really see a lot of events like this so it’s good to see people out, asking questions about what they can do to help,” said Jay. “But also to see the kids here so interested is just great because you know there will be a future generation wanting to be outside and wanting to help animals.”
Reddin also thanked volunteers and participants and noted that donations from the event will go towards the Sierra Club P.E.I.’s initiatives such as the Wild Child program.
