Cindy Peterson shows Colin and Mackenzie Hackleman how to make seed balls during last year’s Earth Day celebration at WACF. Come and learn how to make seed balls to take home at this year’s Earth Day Festival Saturday, April 22. (Photo provided)

SYRACUSE — Have some fun with outdoor activities and learning about lake health during this year’s Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation’s Earth Day Festival. The event, free of charge, will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at the Levinson-LaBrosse Lakes & Wetlands Education Center, one mile south of Syracuse on SR 13.

The day’s activities include 16 different events to participate in to enjoy and experience. Among the activities will be the planting of tree seedlings. Other activities include seeing how the wetlands work through the creativity of Nancy Brown, who will be building the Wawasee watershed model. Guests will see what happens when it rains.

Other festival events include: members of the Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club leading guests in making seed balls to take home and plant; participate in a wake-board quick clinic with Bart’s Water Sports and Andrew Wilson; see how to make a duck nesting box with demonstrations from individuals from Wawasee Ducks Unlimited and Youth Outdoors Unlimited.

But that’s not all. Stones Trace Regulators will demonstrate muzzle loading and Burkholder Archery will have archery equipment and targets along with providing quick lessons in archery. Jeff Mesaros will be flint napping to make arrowheads from rocks. Members of the Webster Lake Musky Club will give lessons in fishing while Kim Nguyen and Ryan Christner will demonstrate tying flies for fishing.

Wawasee FFA will be helping with the tree plantings as well as provide soil texture demonstrations. Watch how to make duck and goose calls with Randy Cesco and members of the Syracuse-Wawasee Trails will show where the trails will lead and how each person can help. Syracuse Boy Scouts will be on hand to help in various ways.

Members of the WACF board will be on hand to answer questions about water quality and the watershed.

Events will be held rain or shine and it’s all free of charge.