Izzy Beezley, Alice Griffith and Guinevere Napier make butterfly nets under the instruction of Angela Himes with the Syracuse Lions Club during the 2019 WACF Earth Day. This year’s event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 1. InkFreeNews photo by Deb Patterson.

News Release

SYRACUSE — Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation’s Earth Day Festival will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the education center, 11586 SR 13, Syracuse. The event is free and has something for people of all ages.

Guests attending the event will want to stop in at the registration tent to sign in and pick up some goodies before heading out to a number of activities and displays.

Visitors during the festival will have an opportunity to make butterfly nets to take home and try, with the help of Syracuse Lions members. Then see what happens when you mix clay, dirt and seeds by making a seed ball with the help of members from the Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club.

Take a look at Kosciusko-In-A-Box with staff from the Kosciusko Soil & Water Conservation District through the use of cubes to learn about the county.

What to be an explorer? Stop by the Clean Water Partnership space to learn about wild spaces and where these wild spaces can be explored on trails in the county.

A sure favorite will be the raptor display by the Tippecanoe Audubon Society where guests can stop and learn what is a raptor. They can also learn about what the Audubon Society does at a separate display.

There will be plenty of educational stations to learn about a wide variety of topics. Take the watershed pledge after learning what a person can do to help improve the water quality and about the changing topography caused by what happens to rain water when it falls on different surfaces with displays by the WACF.

Learn about the trails in the Syracuse area with the Syracuse-Wawasee Trails committee and take a look at where all the trails in Syracuse and Wawasee go.

Ever hear about a muzzle loading gun? The Stones Trace Regulators will provide a muzzle loading demonstration explaining what the gun is, how it’s loaded and what it sounds like when fired.

Do you think all geese and ducks sound alike? Find out with Randy Cesco who will give demonstrations on duck and goose calls. Speaking of ducks, ever wonder where wood ducks nest and what that nest looks like? Members of Ducks Unlimited will be on hand with a display of nesting boxes and information on what types of ducks can be seen in the watershed.

There’s more.

Chautauqua-Wawasee will provide information on the monarch butterfly life cycle. Find out how it starts its life. Is it the “hungry hungry caterpllar?” There will also be an opportunity to get your face painted. Maybe like a butterfly?

Nancy Brown will present information on the great bird migration, providing information on where birds go and why they migrate. Don’t be surprised if the information is presented in the form of a game.

The Northeastern Geocaching Society will have information available about what is a geocache and how it’s done.

Also learn how the Native Americans made arrowheads out of rock with Jeff Mesaros.

There will be opportunities to purchase your own hand carved duck decoys made by Jeff Moore and buy hand-made fish spearing lures by Duane Turnock.

Hungry after learning all about the various topics and participating in events? Syracuse Cub Scouts will have you covered. Guests at the festival will have the opportunity for one free hotdog, chips and water for lunch.

Pack up the family and head to the WACF Education Center to enjoy the fresh air, get some exercise and go home with a wealth of information and experiences.