Earth Day events celebrate nature in Dakota County

Spring is here. The snow is gone. The outdoors is turning green, ever more appealing — and in need of some tidying up.

Multiple events in Dakota County this week give people a chance to tend to Mother Nature in celebration of Earth Day, April 22. From festivals to park cleanups to gardening workshops, options abound.

Here's a sampling of Earth Day events you can find around the county this week.

By spring, Lebanon Hills always has a good share of trash, according to Katie Pata, Dakota County park operations coordinator.

Cans and chip bags from ice anglers float to shore after the ice melts. Staff find tires and axles, and start to notice "evergreen trees planted in places that they weren't before." That is, until park workers notice some tinsel people haven't removed from the discarded Christmas trees.

All week long, during "Earth Week," Lebanon Hills is inviting the public to stop in any time the visitor center is open to do volunteer cleanup. There will be gloves, some bags and fluorescent vests for volunteers. People can pick their favorite area, or consult a map marked with kid-friendly routes, chronic trouble areas and the places volunteers have already cleaned.

"We're trying to make it easier for the public," Pata said.

In past years, the park held an Earth Day festival and cleanup on a specific day, but Pata said that April's unpredictable weather can be tricky. Last year, she said, they had a big event planned with electric cars on display and bands booked, and it poured.

So this year they went with the whole "Earth Week," focused on sprucing up the park.

"Really what people want to do is clean up the parks," she said. "They love the clean-up part of it."

Getting litter cleaned up is important because it helps manage and protect natural resources, such as wetlands, Pata said, adding that people like it because the entire family can get involved.

"It's kind of like a glorified Easter egg hunt for some of the littler ones," she said.

People can participate in a Watershed Cleanup Day and Earth Day celebration in Lakeville on Saturday.

Volunteers will clean up debris throughout the city — in wetland areas, at parks and along roads and trails from 9 to 11:30 a.m. People who want to help should go to the Central Maintenance Facility at 7570 179th St. W., where they will get a free T-shirt and garbage bags and be assigned an area to clean. They also can register to win earth-friendly prizes.

After the pickup, there is an Earth Day Celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a free pizza lunch for volunteers, followed by activities such as puppet shows, Blue Thumb workshops on rain gardens and composting workshops. The celebration is open to anyone, not just those who participated in the cleanup.

"It's a really fun day," said Dianne Quinnell, of the city's engineering department. "The whole community is really involved in it. It's really always been so well attended."

She said that each year they usually draw about 1,000 volunteers.

Farmington will hold an Earth and Arbor Day Celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Rambling River Center at 325 Oak St.

The event includes science and art activities, animals and educational exhibits. Bring your old crayons (wrappers still on) so they can be recycled into new ones.

More information is available on the city's website, www.ci.farmington.mn.us.