Celebrate nature at the Earth/Arbor Day Festival

Both Earth Day and Arbor Day are good chances for people to take a moment to consider ways they can have a positive impact on the environment and with the Earth/Arbor Day Festival right around the corner, Pahrump residents can spend a fun and interactive day learning all about just how to do so.

The Earth/Arbor Day Festival is set for next Saturday, April 22 and event organizers are hoping for a strong turnout. As John Pawlak reflected, the past few years have been a challenge but the event is all prepared to bounce back in 2023.

“We’ve been at this since 2003, when we began celebrating Earth Day in our town at Honeysuckle Park, which was later called Ian Deutch Memorial Park,” Pawlak, who helped found the event with the Pahrump Nuclear Waste Environmental Committee, stated. “Then we moved over to a lovely pine-tree-covered area at Discovery Park for three years until the property went up for sale and we headed back to Ian Deutch. All seemed cozy back in our home park there, until the dreaded COVID pandemic hit, causing us to dramatically shrink in size for a couple of years.

“And then last year we had to endure a fierce wind and dust storm, which brought us this year to the Bob Ruud Community Center at Petrack Park,” Pawlak continued. “We’re indoors this year and ready for just about any type of weather, shy of a tornado. We also have the field adjacent to the community center to enjoy a sunny day, just in case!”

The Pahrump Nuclear Waste and Environmental Advisory Committee and the Southern Nye County Conservation District are co-hosts for the Earth/Arbor Day Festival, which Pawlak promises will be both educational and entertaining.

“Debby Woodland has been busy, not only with our flyer design but with her own booth from Great Basin Water Company,” Pawlak said. “Our other main utility, Valley Electric Association, will be present and host a booth as well. Many federal and state conservation groups will be attending, as will town advisory committees and Nye County departments involved with keeping our valley a safer place to live. The groups are too numerous to list so check out our flyer in the PV Times.”

Aside from the incredible array of information that will be on display, there will be demonstrations, games, crafts, animals and much more to enjoy. Chicago-style hot dogs and chips will be provided, along with copycat Orange Julius samples.

Attendees can also try their luck in a variety of raffles, with three camper-size rechargeable blenders, a GoSun mini solar cover and even a bidet, which Pawlak noted is a great way to save on toilet paper and help the environment, up for grabs. To help boost the local tree population, Great Basin Water Company will be raffling off free five-gallon trees for the community, with Woodland remarking, “After the flood we experienced in July 2021, many people would appreciate winning a tree.”

“There are many more booths and giveaways to make saving the environment more fun as we do our part of leaving no trace,” Pawlak concluded. “Oh, and there’s music too!”

The Earth/Arbor Day Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 at the Bob Ruud Community Center. For more information contact Woodland at Debby.Woodland@greatbasinwaterco.com or 775-990-4793.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com