Earth Day extravaganza makes triumphant return for 2023

Apr. 18—What's more fitting for celebrating Earth Day than a bit of rain and wind?

Not enough to cause too much of an issue for the organizers of the Somerset Community College event, but just enough to cool down what was the promise of a warm spring day in Kentucky.

The Earth Day event took place Sunday — six days before the official Earth Day on Saturday April 22, on SCC's campus. While the weather may have driven some of the displays indoors, it didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the attendees.

In fact, the large number of guests to turn out made the day a complete success, according to Kelly Johnson, the chair of the Earth Day committee and an associated professor of biology.

"I think people were really excited that we were having it again, so we've had a good crowd," she said.

It was the first year back for the event, since COVID put the kibosh on 2020's gathering. Plans had been in place and the event was just over a month away from happening before it had to be cancelled, Johnson said. Then, with the pandemic still taking place, 2021's and 2022's plans were scrapped as well.

But Johnson said 2023's event worked out well.

"I've just really enjoyed seeing everyone on campus and having such a large crowd," she said. "This is one of the largest events that we hold here at SCC each year, and just seeing the community out and taking advantage of our beautiful camps and spending the day with us has been the best part for me."

She added, "I love seeing kids — adults are important too — but I love seeing kids enjoying science and nature."

Highlights of the event include the butterfly exhibit, which was still popular even though it had been moved indoors due to the day's high winds.

"That has not deterred people from going in to see it. That's always a hit," Johnson said.

She also said she was happy to have so many people interested in the bird watching walk along the campus's nature trail.

"A lot of people don't even realize that it exists behind the college," she said. "We have a beautiful nature trail that has all kinds of trees marked so that people can learn about different tree species. But then, we just recently put in disc golf out there as well... We kind of wanted to draw attention out to that area."

Another hot spot among guests was the reptile exhibit, brought in courtesy of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo.

Kat Dale with the Kentucky Reptile Zoo spent her day interacting with guests, telling them more about the reptiles she brought with here and generally answering questions, from children and adults alike.

"I have the four major groups: snakes, lizards, turtles and that alligator," she said, adding that the alligator was one of the most popular attractions.

And hidden among the several snakes brought in was a legless lizard, which Dale patiently explained that people could tell the difference between them because the lizard has eyelids and ears. "Snakes don't have those," she said.

And out of all of the reptiles — including the snakes — on display, the only venomous one was the Gila Monster, which is considered only mildly venomous to humans.

In answer to one visitor's curiosity, Dale said, "Their venom has been used to make a diabetes medication."

While the reptile display was a hive of activity, a few doors away another interactive event let people learn more about how to be creative with their no-longer-needed clothing.

Erin Stephens spent the day teaching others about Manx quilting, a traditional way for quilters to reuse scraps of cotton fabric they happen to have on hand.

"Quilters have always used old clothing as part of their quilts, or maybe even the whole quilt," Stephens said. "But this is a traditional technique that comes from the Isle of Man. The fabric is pieced onto foundations, so that every bit of scrap can be used. There's hardly any waste. It's also a hand stitching method, so you don't have to have any electricity. All you need is the needle, thread and the fabric. You don't even have to have scissors."

Such a quilting style is useful for those who want to embody Earth Day and learn how to be better to our environment, but Stephens said there was another good reason to recycle cotton material.

"Every cotton shirt takes 2,700 liters of water to produce the cotton. That is about the same amount that an average person drinks in two and a half years," she said. "So if we're throwing that away, we're throwing away that much water. That's not even counting pesticides and other environmental issues with simply throwing things away."

Families also had the chance to learn about raising their own food, whether that be through planting a garden or raising their own chickens.

Rebecca Thurman, a college advisor at SCC, brought in her baby chickens and a selection of eggs that her adult hens had laid.

She said she has been teaching the public about chickens for several years at the Earth Day event, and that the chicks are a very popular stop for visitors.

She said she raises Ameraucanas, Eggers and Marans, which supply a colorful variety of eggs.

Her hobby also provides plenty of eggs for her family, including her parents, which came in handy this year when grocery store egg prices went through the roof.

She also has Cornish chickens, which is a larger breed and is raised only for its meat, she explained.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com