Nearly perfect weather welcomed hundreds of families at Malden Park for a day of education and fun during Windsor's Earth Day celebrations on Sunday.
"It's a great turnout," Matt Johnson, executive director of economic development and climate change at the city of Windsor, told the Star. "We're really excited about having all the families out here participating, meeting with some of the vendors and some of our community partners that are teaching the kids about environmental initiatives that they could take themselves to better the planet."
A Tradition of Environmental Awareness
First marked in 1970, Earth Day is now celebrated in over 193 countries worldwide. In Windsor-Essex, local celebrations have been held since 1989, according to organizers. The free, zero-waste event offered environmental exhibits, arts and crafts fun, games, prizes and a live birds of prey show.
Windsor's Earth Day is as much about having fun outdoors as it is about educating children about pollution and the environment, Johnson said. "Climate change is one of those complex problems, and it's going to take a collective effort, collective advocacy from multiple people," Johnson said. "We want to teach the next generation to care for their planet and learn about initiatives they can take."
Renewable Energy in the Spotlight
The event featured Windsor-based businesses bringing awareness to local environmental causes and renewable energies. "What people do here is absolutely important in the long term," Klaus Dohring, founder and owner of Green Sun Rising, told the Star. The Windsor renewable energy company, which has notably installed solar power installations in communities across Canada's High Arctic, has participated at Earth Day at Malden Park for the past 18 years, Dohring said.
Dohring, who showed off a parabolic solar cooker that harnesses sunlight to boil water, said he has noticed younger people taking a bigger interest in renewable initiatives. "I believe there is a generational change and the young people recognize that we have to stop destroying our planet. Do they want to take over and inherit a garbage dump? No, they want the planet intact as possible. So I do believe that there is a change in mentality."
Connecting with Wildlife
A bird of prey show starring an owl and an eagle was among the more popular attractions at Malden Park. "The more people know about the animals around them, the wildlife around them, and the ecosystem in general, the more they tend to want to get involved," said raptor trainer Matthew Morgan, co-owner of Eyrie Birds of Prey services. "The more connection people have to these things, the more interested they are in helping protect and become aware of issues and do their part to help out our wildlife, that we all share the environment."
