Posted: April 23, 2024
Written by: Education & Outreach Coordinator, Hanna Meyer
Over 700 people attended the 2024 Earth Day Festival on April 20th at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds! The annual Earth Day Festival is a free open-house event organized by Winneshiek County Conservation, Winneshiek Energy District, Winneshiek County ISU Extension & Outreach, the Oneota Food Co-op, Luther College Environmental Studies, and other community organizations with support from the Winneshiek County Sanitary Landfill and Winneshiek County Recycling Center.
Festival-goers enjoyed free snacks and coffee thanks to the Oneota Food Co-op, Winneshiek Energy District, Impact Coffee, and Euphoria Coffee. Highlights of the event included showings of ten different electric vehicle models, hands-on insect exploration with the Iowa State University Insect Zoo, planetarium presentations from Keystone Area Education Agency, and free tree sapling giveaways sponsored by the Winneshiek Energy District. Additionally, several organizations, including Seed Savers Exchange, Winneshiek County Master Gardeners, and Decorah Parks & Recreation handed out free seeds.
Presentations were given throughout the event. Winneshiek County Conservation Naturalist Larry Reis presented “Bringing Birds & Pollinators to Your Backyard” and festival-goers could stop by the Winneshiek County Conservation tables to learn more about supporting wildlife and getting outdoors this summer. Dave Kester with the Raptor Resource Project presented Astrid, the live gyrfalcon. Paul Cutting with the Winneshiek Energy District discussed “Solar 101” and Luther College Professor Birgitta Meade shared “Understanding the Decorah Impact Crater.”
Participants also tried earth-related activities with Luther College Environmental Studies students, ArtHaus, the Decorah High School Envirothon teams, Red Oak Outdoor School, Upper Iowa Audubon, Winneshiek County Conservation, Winneshiek County Farm Bureau, and Winneshiek County ISU Extension & Outreach.
Informational tables were hosted by the City of Decorah Forester, the Decorah Community Food Pantry, the Depot Outlet, Decorah Public Library, Farmers Land Investment Cooperative, the Decorah Farmers Market, HAWC Partnerships for Children, Helping Services, NICC Green Iowa AmeriCorps, Northeast Iowa Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Care for Creation Network, the NE Iowa Peace & Justice Center, Trout Unlimited Driftless Chapter, ReRooted Connections, and Sweet Season Farm & Humble Hands Harvest Collaborative CSA.
The goal of the Earth Day Festival is to bring together our community to find sustainable ways to care for our natural resources, reduce pressure on our landfill, and contribute to the health of Winneshiek County. Learn more about event hosts: Winneshiek County Conservation at www.winneshiekwild.com and Winneshiek County Waste Reduction at www.winneshiekwaste.com.
