Mentor Earth Day Celebration to Show a Little Fun Can Make Huge Difference

Mentor kids and families can spend this Earth Day having some good clean fun.

The second Celebrate Earth Day with the “Earth Mentors” will be held at the Wildwood Park Cultural Arts Center on Friday, April 22 from 2 to 6 p.m. The celebration offers games, activities and more all aimed to educate people on healthy environmental practices.

“By coming to this event, people can learn about a lot of different little things they can do to make a big difference,” said Bonnie Rice, the executive director of Keep Mentor Beautiful.

Activities this year include making bird feeders out of beverage bottles, building rain barrels and activities geared towards learning about healthy fishing practices. Kids can also channel their inner WALL-E by turning shoes without partners donated by the Salvation Army into pots for plants, a returning favorite activity from last year.

Rice promised more vendors and activities this year compared to last. She also said that the day is really about putting an emphasis on fun while also looking towards preventing ecological issues in the future.

“Lake County landfill is already bigger than the building,” Rice pointed out. “Finding a new landfill would be a huge obstacle to approve because nobody wants it in their backyard.”

Though primarily meant for families to have fun, Rice’s biggest hope for the event is what children and their parents can walk away with.

“My hope would be that people learn how they as an individual can make a difference,” Rice said. “Every little thing that they do adds up, and every thing they share with others makes a world of difference. If everybody just makes a little bit of effort, we can get rid of some of these big problems that are going on.”