Earth Day reminder: Experience nature so you value it

Published 7:54 pm Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22. It’s a time when a lot of people are thinking about the environment who might not normally be. It’s a great time to celebrate the environment, but also to advocate for the environment, especially in our local communities.

We often don’t talk about the dire situation the planet is in to children because they must first feel a connection to the environment before they would care about their impact. The same is true for adults. No one is going to care about their environmental impacts if they don’t feel a strong connection to the natural world around them.

This Earth Day, I challenge you to promote getting outdoors, especially to people who might not normally do so. I truly believe that being outside can change a person. It can open their eyes to how amazing nature can be and give them a real tangible place they want to protect.

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Kentucky is such a gorgeous place, who wouldn’t want to help these natural areas after spending some time in them? There are lots of nice places in the country, but I’m really partial to Kentucky. So here are some events coming up in the area that you can go to and get outside — and that you can encourage others to attend:

  • Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge Wildflower Walk on Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m.: The Central Kentucky Wildlife Refuge is a place that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve been on the board of the refuge for four years and I have served as president as well. This is a free event. You can find more information on their Facebook page: facebook.com/CentralKyWildlifeRefuge.
  • Maywoods Family Nature Day on Saturday on May 4 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.: Maywoods is located northeast of Crab Orchard and is part of the EKU Division of Natural Areas. I’ve been out there before as a college student and it’s a beautiful area. For more information you can visit https://naturalareas.eku.edu.
  • Josephine Sculpture Park First Sunday Guided Nature Tour with Raptor Rehab of Kentucky on Sunday, May 5 at 1 p.m.: This event is located in Frankfort at 3355 Lawrenceburg Road, three-fourths of a mile south of Capital Bowl. There is a $5 suggested donation per person. For more information, you can visit www.facebook.com/josephinesculpturepark.

If you know of any other local events that get people outside please let me know.

About Amanda Wheeler

Amanda Wheeler is the children and teen services librarian at the Lincoln County Public Library. She has a master's in zoology education from the University of Miami and has taught as an educator at the Cincinnati Zoo.

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