By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Trash cleanup part of GB’s Earth Day activities
Fun activities planned at the zoo
earthday-KWEC
FHSU graduate student Connor Champney spins the pollinator prize wheel to determine what wonderful products pollinators provide. The Kansas Wetlands Education Center will bring the prize wheel to the Great Bend Earth Day Celebration this Saturday at the Great Bend Brit-Spaugh Zoo.

Sponsors of Saturday’s Great Bend Earth Day Celebration are inviting community members to lend a hand with trash cleanup in the city parks. There are also fun, family-friendly activities planned at this event, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 23 at the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo.

Zoo Supervisor Ashley Burdick said participants can pick up a trash bag at the zoo to collect trash at Brit Spaugh Park, including the zoo, or other city parks.

Once they’ve turned in their trash, participants can guess how much trash will be collected that day. “The winners will get a prize basket from one of our generous donors, Rosewood Winery, Sweet Dreams Candy Shop and the Zoo gift shop,” Burdick said.

People don’t have to wait until 11 a.m. to start. Bags will be available when the zoo opens at 9 a.m. Burdick added that no household trash will be accepted.

Rosewood ECycle, a co-sponsor of the event, will have displays that show what type electronic waste can be  e-cycled. Representatives will demonstrate how to safely disassemble e-cycle items, said Michael Dawes with Rosewood.

Members of the Rosewood Aktion Club will be working with young event participants to help them plant their very own tomato seeds. 

“Zoo staff will have an enrichment activity for kids to make for the animals, as well as some animal visitors to meet,” Burdick said. “We will also be handing out tote bags with goodies and coupons from our other co-sponsor, Dairy Queen.”


Other activities

Here are some other activities going on at the Earth Day Celebration:

• Heartland Farm will have information about pollinator plants, organically-managed gardens, the farm’s alpacas, and its upcoming Open Farm Day on April 30 and Peace Camps in June and July. For the Earth Day celebration, Heartland Farm will be running an “adopt an alpaca” fundraiser and will have alpaca-shaped seed bombs for a suggested donation.

• The Kansas Wetlands Education Center’s Earth Day event will tie in with pollinators. Spin the Pollinator Prize Wheel and find out the prizes pollinators provide for us, and take a prize home. KWEC will have lots of information about these amazing helpers and how we can help them.

• Luna the therapy dog, a Pet Partner with the Read With Me program will be there with her handler, Glenn Schraeder. Luna is a Bernese Mountain Dog who is friendly and loves to hear stories and meet new people.

• Great Bend Zoological Society members will have popcorn and a craft for visitors. At 1 p.m.,  the Zoo Society will have a special animal “meet and greet” for zoo society members.

• Women for Kansas will have a booth in the Raptor Center with an exciting beeswax project! The first 100 children can create and design a cloth wrap treated with beeswax that replaces single-use plastic wrap. Used over and over, beeswax wraps are an efficient, and fun, way to reduce plastics in the environment.

• Smoky Hills Public Television will have its annual Family Fun Day at the zoo to coincide with the Earth Day Celebration. Children will be able to meet Curious George and take pictures with him. The first 500 kids that come to meet Curious George will receive a free bag of gifts from Smoky Hills PBS.