News

Participation for ‘Earth Day Celebration’ Growing for Inaugural Event

Activities Planned April 23 at Great Bend Zoo

‘Great Bend Earth Day Celebration,’ scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 23 at Great Bend Zoo, is shaping up to be a big event. The Great Bend Zoo, Rosewood ECycle and Great Bend Dairy Queen are hosting the event, and they are inviting other organizations and businesses to take part.

So far, several organizations have committed to the local come-and-go celebration, which occurs a day after the official 52nd anniversary of Earth Day. Smoky Hills PBS is incorporating its ‘Family Fun Day’ into the event and will bring a special PBS character to meet and mingle with children. That character will be announced later this month, said Amanda Smith, Smoky Hills PBS marketing director. Also participating in the inaugural event are Kansas Wetlands Education Center, Women For Kansas, Heartland Farms, Great Bend Zoo, Rosewood ECycle, and Rosewood AKTION Club.

“The organizations that have signed up are excited for the opportunity to be a part of our event,” said Great Bend Zoo Curator Ashley Burdick. “They have great ideas for displays and booth interaction, so I’m sure Earth Day Celebration will be a super fun day for our community. Having the Smoky Hills character here to take pictures with children will be fun, and we will have animals out throughout the day for keeper chats and meet and greets, as well. We’ll provide more details about participating organizations and booth themes as we get closer to the day.”

As the event draws closer, Burdick encourages other businesses and organizations to sign up prior to the April 1 deadline. She also invites food vendors to get involved.  Organizations, businesses and vendors wanting to participate in the inaugural ‘Great Bend Earth Day Celebration’ can contact Burdick at 620-793-4226, or e-mail her at zoocurator@greatbendks.net.

Burdick said ‘Great Bend Earth Day Celebration’ perfectly fits the mission of the Great Bend Zoo, and she is hopeful the community will support the event this year and beyond.

“Our big push is conservation and conserving the wild spaces for animals,” explained Burdick. “Recycling is one of our main education themes that we work on; trying to get people interested in conservation and why it’s important to recycle and care about our environment. “We can’t make that big of a change as one person, but if we get everybody conserving just a little bit more than they already are, then we can make a huge difference in that way.”

‘Great Bend Earth Day Celebration’ is geared toward children, but all family members are welcome to participate. Great Bend Dairy Queen will issue a coupon for a free small ice cream cone to all youth participants that day.

Access Great Bend Earth Day Celebration flier at http://rosewoodservices.com/assets/files/Earth-Day-Flier-Med-Res-1-28-22.pdf

-EDC-

For more information, contact Ashley Burdick, Great Bend Zoo Curator, zoocurator@greatbendks.net, 620-793-4226

March 8, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Michael Dawes, director of PR, Rosewood Services, 620-792-2536, MichaelD@rosewoodservices.com