A couple enjoys the scenery at Harriet Alexander Nature Center despite the gloom during its Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 25. Cecilia Wallace/The Roseville Reporter
Roseville’s nature center celebrated with sustainable crafts, a scavenger hunt and more, encouraging eco-friendliness beyond just one day each year
By Cecilia Wallace — Environmental reporter
The Harriet Alexander Nature Center (HANC) celebrated Earth Day on April 25 with activities for all ages.
While HANC is situated off of Dale Street, quietly tucked behind Roseville’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, this event was anything but quiet, even with rainy April weather.
The celebration had environmentally friendly crafts like decorating reusable silverware pouches, a scavenger hunt on the trails, Earth-themed bingo, a recycling challenge, an area to learn about camping and many more resources for sustainability beginners.
“It’s a family-friendly celebration of Earth Day and also a little bit of fun education about sustainability choices we can make in our own life,” said Deon Haider, Roseville program supervisor. “This year, we are following the International Earth Day theme, which is ‘Our Power, Our Planet,’ and featuring activities and resources in regards to actions that individuals can take to promote healthy air, land and water.”
One of the most popular sustainability stations was the silverware pouches, which were made out of old t-shirts. Participants could choose a pre-sewn pouch, insert a strip of fabric as a tie closure and add their own design with permanent markers.
Attendees could also learn how to sew, learn about alternatives to fast fashion and participate in a no-needle sew project, stitching cord through cut outs of animals that can be found in the area surrounding the nature center.
As people worked on their projects, Will Hale and the Tadpole Parade performed live folk-style music, sparking dancing among kids and adults alike.
Beyond the sustainable crafts, HANC also had people getting down into the nitty gritty, planting native wildflower seeds into freshly-laid soil.
“We had some new signs installed at the center of our trail last fall, and we’re going to be planting a bunch of natives there, so that’s one exciting thing, because people get to put a plant in the ground that will hopefully be there many, many years to come,” Haider said.
Haider is hoping that by introducing Roseville residents to eco-friendly activities and providing them with the resources they need, sustainability will spread to other areas of their lives.
“We will have a variety of community resource groups here that can be great places to start, whether it’s in getting to know your representatives and voting or choosing sustainable options for your household, learning how to recycle properly and more,” Haider said.
For those who couldn’t attend the celebration, individuals are encouraged to attend future events, get involved and contribute to a greener planet.
“Anything we do here is sustainability minded, given that we’re a nature center. Our next largest event would be the Wild Rice Festival, which is in September,” Haider said.
Although the event was not celebrated on Earth Day itself, the center still felt it was important to observe and invite people to the center.
“It’s an opportunity to mark a sort of historical, long investment in caring about our Earth,” Haider said. “The Nature Center originally opened on Earth Day, and obviously, we’re not celebrating on the actual date, but we’re commemorating it, and Earth Day has long been an event that reminds people of our role in promoting sustainable choices.”
To learn more about the HANC and its eco-friendly events, head to their website.
Cecilia Wallace can be reached at celiadw016@gmail.com.
