We met with Executive Director of the Tree Hill Nature Center, Lucy Cortese, to chat about the upcoming Butterfly Festival.
Find out exactly what’s happening this Saturday at Tree Hill Nature Center in Jacksonville.
Florida’s Birding and Foto Fest on the First Coast
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. Florida’s Birding & FotoFest will take place along the Northeast coast of Florida April 22-26, 2009. Now it in its seventh year, this year’s events will be headquartered at the Center for Marine Studies at the University of Florida’s Whitney Lab at Marineland – approximately 15 miles south of St. Augustine on historic and scenic A1A. Over the years, the event has grown tremendously in popularity – this year, participants are coming from 31 states and two countries.
The popular festival provides visitors and residents outstanding opportunities to experience the unspoiled natural beauty that is unique to Northeast Florida. Events take place from Ft. George Island in Jacksonville southward to Volusia County’s North Peninsula State Park.
Tickets remain available for the Saturday, April 25 keynote presentation by John Moran titled A Photographer’s Search for the Soul of Florida. There are also slots available for participating in the day-long Bird Migration Workshop scheduled for 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22. In addition to the workshops and tours, numerous exhibitors will be on hand at Whitney Lab throughout the festival. These include the Audubon Birds of Prey Center (featuring live birds); St. Johns and Duval Audubon Societies; Bushnell, Canon USA, Eagle, Leica, Sigma, Swarovski, and Zeiss optics; Wildstock Photography; Hunt’s Photo and Video; NatureScapes.net;; Essential Photo Gear; Nature Nook Books and many others. Festival exhibit hours are Thursday, 2-5 p.m.; Friday, 12:30-4 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.
For more information and to purchase tickets for festival tours, workshops and seminars, visit www.Getaway4Nature.com or call 1-800-514-ETIX (3849).
For more information about events and vacation opportunities in St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches visit www.Getaway4Florida.com or call 1.800.653.2489.
Photo by: Roger Graw
Earth Day Festival 2009 – Savannah, Georgia
Savannah’s 13th Annual Earth Day Festival takes place in Forsyth Park with workshops, entertainment, vendors, raffles and more.
The City of Savannah’s Water Resources Bureau encourages festival-goers to be green and bring their own water bottle to the Earth Day festival because they will provide delicious water straight from the well.
Even the music performers are using solar energy at the event. The festival also has a recycling program for hard to recycle items. You can simply bring your item to the festival for recycling. At the festival they’ll except items such as cell phones, oil, tires and more. Please refer to the website for the complete list. (www.earthdaysavannah.org)
There are also a few interesting workhops at this festival. Learn how to compost using worms, collect rainwater in your backyard and get ideas about how to raise kids the green way.
Workshops, Side Tent, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• 11:30am: Vermiculture; learn how to cultivate and maintain a worm compost bin at home! Display worm compost barrel will be raffled off at the end of the class! Taught by Saja Aures of the City of Savannah.
• 12:30pm: Rain Barrel Construction; build your own rain barrels and harvest one of Savannah’s most valuable resources: rain water! Taught by Kelly Lockamy of Organically Yours.
• 1:30pm: Green Parenting; general tips and ideas on how to raise our babies in an eco-friendly way! Taught by Bethany Jewell of The Metropolitan Planning Commission.
Savannah Wheelie Community Bike Ride
This is the 2nd time for the community bike ride. The ride starts at 3pm in Forsyth Park and is organized by the Savannah Bicycle Campaign. The ride will go through the streets of downtown Savannah to mark the end of the 13th Annual Earth Day Festival.
Earth Day Festival on April 18 in Charleston
Celebrate Earth Day Charleston-style with a celebration of Charleston county’s environmental community. This is always a popular festival, last year over 7,000 people attended the Earth Day Festival. You can learn about green living, how to compost, alternative energy, recycling, organic agriculture, see a recycled fashion show and much more.
There will be over 70 educational displays and a variety of environmental activities focusing on things such as green energy, green building, animals and habitat preservation, litter, water, seedlings and compost.
The Earth Day Festival in Charleston will take place from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Park Circle in North Charleston
East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival 2009
(Charleston, SC) James Island County Park will host the 19th Annual East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival, April 17-19, 2009. One of the premier paddlesport events on the Atlantic Coast, the festival is a full-weekend immersed in the technique, hands-on experience,>history, and fun of canoeing and kayaking.
Each year E.C.C.K.F. brings together paddling enthusiasts of all levels with world-renowned instructors and equipment manufacturers. The action-packed festival features a multitude of on-water classes, lectures, and demonstrations directed to the novice as well as the experienced paddler. Plus over 40 commercial exhibitors will be on-hand to give you a chance to try the latest equipment before you buy.
The heart of the festival is the simultaneous running of four classrooms throughout the three-day event. You can meet and learn from the following experts, Nigel Foster, Cathy Piffath, Christopher Stec, Jeff Cooper, Ken Fink, Karen Knight, Dubside, Ben Lawry, Steve Scherrer, and Russell Farrow, as well as other knowledgeable paddlesport enthusiasts. A wide variety of topics include slide shows of exotic paddling locations, how-to sessions on navigation, selecting or repairing equipment, safety, and preparing gourmet cuisine fresh from your dry bag.
The 2009 festival kicks off Friday with classes, workshops, and boat demonstrations. Join keynote speaker Russell Farrow for the opening barbecue dinner and social. Russell will present an exciting multimedia presentation of his six-week kayaking trip to Canadian High Arctic on the north end of Baffin Island (600 miles north of the Arctic Circle).
Children are also welcome to the festival and are free with a paying adult. Learn how to paddle as a family in our clinics, or register your young paddlers in the full and ½ day canoe and kayak camps (ages 6-12) featuring hands-on sessions, cardboard canoe races, nature walks, crafts, and more.
Make plans now to participate in this exciting event! Come meet your paddling peers throughout the weekend and enjoy food, beverages, music and of course, canoeing and kayaking!
For more information, a daily festival schedule, and to register, call (843) 795-4FUN or visit our website at www.ccprc.com/ecckf.
