People can have fun and learn more about their role in helping the environment at Naperville’s annual Earth Day Fair.
The Naperville Park District’s Earth Day Fair is from 1 to 4 p.m. April 23 at the Fort Hill Activity Center in Naperville. Angelique Harshman, manager at the Knoch Knolls Nature Center, is the Naperville Park District’s representative for Earth Week Naperville.
The Earth Day Fair began in 2018, she said. It’s part of a bigger event called Earth Week Naperville.
“The idea was to collaborate with other area organizations and post those other collaborative events online, as well as any volunteer opportunities,” she said. She cited volunteer opportunities with the park district as well as with the Forest Preserve District of Will County.
“It’s kind of become more of an Earth month — and sometimes a couple of months,” she said. “We also collaborate with the Conservation Foundation and they offer the DuPage River sweep and that’s in May. The year we held the event outdoors in 2021, it was held in June here at Knoch Knolls Park and that really extended the season.”
This year, attendees at the Earth Day Fair can expect several booths with information, giveaways, crafts, games and demonstrations. There will be 25 experts, businesses and organizations participating in the fair; including new and familiar ones.
“We have a new exhibitor this year I’m really excited about called EarthPaint,” she said. “This is an organization that takes people’s old paints and remixes them so they can be reused. That’s pretty awesome.”
The City of Naperville, Naper Settlement, the Naperville Public Library, the League of Women Voters, the International Dark-Sky Association and Naperville Community Gardeners are a few of the organizations that will be on hand. The International Dark-Sky Association is back for their second year and has a display on earth-friendly lighting, she said.
“There’s always a chance to speak with experts,” she said. “People can learn about native trees and plants. We always have free seeds and saplings to give away and (even) LED light bulbs.”
Nobody sells anything at this fair, she said.
“It’s a chance to get information and not feel like you’re trying to be sold something,” she said.
“We do have a lot of nonprofits but … they’re going to provide information and expertise and chat with people and find out how we can best help them to be more eco-friendly, be more green, reduce their carbon footprint. I think that’s what people appreciate too. We share little things people can do every day to help the earth.”
People will have a good time and leave feeling good knowing they have learned more about how to help the environment, she said.
“I think Earth Day helps us remember we’re not separate from nature; we’re a part of it and we can certainly influence the future of our planet by taking care of it,” she said.
Earth Day Fair concludes a week of events honoring Earth Day, she said.
Other events include a spring campaign sign recycling event from 3 to 5 p.m. April 21 and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. April 22 at the DuPage County Government campus in Wheaton. They’ll even take the metal stands, she said.
Additionally, an Earth Day Festival presented by the Forest Preserve District of Will County from 12 to 4 p.m. April 22 at the Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook.
There will be demonstrations, vendors, crafts, hands-on exhibits, live music and giveaways. Additionally, people can meet some bees and other live animals and make a s’more at a campfire. The event is free and no registration is required.
Earth Day Fair
When: 1-4 p.m. April 23
Where: Fort Hill Activity Center, 20 Fort Hill Drive, Naperville
Tickets: Free
Information: 630-848-3572; napervilleparks.org/earthweeknaperville
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
