RALEIGH -- A 37-foot dinosaur skeleton reigns inside the lobby of a Winston-Salem bank. Wide-eyed fourth graders listen to tales of red wolves and spiders. Ecologists and environmental professionals visit schools and participate in public forums in honor of the day and the week.
Of course -- it's Earth Week and Earth Day 1999!
Born in 1970 of an idea for worldwide celebration of the earth's wonders, the annual recognition day (April 22) falls on Thursday this year. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), state government's steward of the environment and its natural resources, will celebrate throughout the week with a series of special events.
"This week offers us an opportunity to educate ourselves about the environment and pass that knowledge onto our children," DENR Secretary Wayne McDevitt said. "I encourage all North Carolinians to do something during the week to help the environment and become part of environmental education statewide. My hope is that every day becomes Earth Day."
Earth Week kicks off this weekend when sixth grade girls study the Neuse River watershed at Camp Don Lee near Arapahoe. Over the weekend, the North Carolina Zoo sponsors a major clean-up and encourages visitors to recycle aluminum cans.
On Monday, April 19, at 2 p.m., Division of Coastal Management officials will dedicate the Bald Head Island Coastal Reserve. Earlier that day, the 37-foot-long skeleton of the meat-eating dinosaur, acrocanthosaurus, will begin its week-long reign in the lobby of the BB&T Bank in downtown Winston-Salem.
Leading up to Thursday, April 22, Earth Day fairs and exhibitions will be held at Wake Forest/Rolesville Middle School in the Raleigh area. Several environmental organizations and state agencies will help the schoolchildren celebrate Earth Week.
On Earth Day, a dozen events are planned that involve DENR and its employees. The first 25 years of the Coastal Area Management Act will be highlighted on a special edition of the Agency for Public Telecommunications' Open Net program on cable access stations across the state. DENR's Division of Marine Fisheries will christen its new Marine Patrol vessel at the Manteo waterfront, and the popular puppets of the Division of Air Quality will be on display at a bookstore in Raleigh.
The state's Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance will join the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in programs for children at Lacy Elementary School in Raleigh. Environmental technicians and water quality specialists will fan out from seven regional offices of DENR to clean streams and creeks. Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher Aquariums will offer free admission to celebrate the day. An environmental garden will be established on Earth Day just outside the Archdale Building in Raleigh.
As Earth Week winds down, Root Elementary School in Raleigh will stage its "Forest Festival."
Thousands of postcards will be mailed to public school children offering tips on preventing waste, and
the groundbreaking for the renovation of Fort Fisher Aquarium will be held on Saturday, April 24.
Contact: Don Reuter, 919-715-4112
Date posted: April 16, 1999
North Carolina's Earth Week Celebration
The description, date, and time of major Earth Day and Earth Week events scheduled:
April 16-18: Sixth grade girls will stay at Camp Don Lee near New Bern on the weekend studying the Neuse River watershed. They are the Girls In Science/Neuse River Project sponsored by the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Contact: Karen Kemp, 919-733-7450
April 17: In honor of Earth Week, the Conservation Captains are joining with the Zoo 4-H group to kick off a litter pick-up for a 2-mile stretch of the Zoo Parkway. The cleanup will be from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Cleanup projects have been a part of the Earth Week celebration at the Zoo since the first Earth Day in 1970. Contact: Rod Hackney, N.C. Zoo, 336-879-7204
April 18: Visitors to the North Carolina Zoo can recycle aluminum cans for a 32 oz. Zoo cup and get some of the 400 hardwood seedlings to be given away by Zoo 4-H members. During the day, the Zoo will feature displays, signs for the human being exhibit, bird identification led by John Ferree, a Smart Cart and kite flying at the lake. Contact: Rod Hackney, 336-879-7204
April 18-24: The Division of Water Quality (DWQ) in DENR's Regional Offices will sponsor a series of stream cleanups and serve as instructors at several public school's Earth Week celebrations.
April 22
-- Cleanup of Cross Creek in Fayetteville, starts at 9 a.m. Contact Belinda Henson, 910-486-1541.
- Cleanup of McCrary Park and Lake in Wilmington, begins at 10 a.m. Contact: Ed Beck, 910-395-3900.
- Cleanup of Jack's Creek in Washington, involving the Tar-Pamlico Rapid Response Team, begins at 8:30 a.m. Contact: Daphne Cullom, 252-946-6481.
- Staff will be teaching about the aquatic environment to children at Frances Lacy Elementary School, Raleigh. Contact: Jill Cox, 919-733-7015, ext. 227.
April 23-- Shoreline cleanup at Lake Norman near the Mooresville Regional Office, starts at 9 a.m. Contact: John Lesley, 704-663-1699.
- Cleanup at Pigeon House Creek by staff of Raleigh Regional Office, begins at 9 a.m. Contact: Charles Brown, 919-571-4700.
- DWQ Central Office staff will join DWQ Director, Tommy Stevens, in a cleanup of the several streams "adopted" by that office. Contact: Jill Cox, 919-733-7015, Ext. 227.
April 19-24: Staff of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will display the 37-foot long skeleton of the meat-eating dinosaur, Acrocanthosaurus, in the bank's lobby in downtown Winston-Salem, with paleontologists on hand for questions. Contact: Karen Kemp, 919-733-7450
April 19: Ceremonies will be held at 2 p.m. on Bald Head Island to dedicate Bald Head Woods, part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve. Contact: Alison Davis, 919-715-7357
April 21: Several environmental organizations join DENR staff in putting on Earth Day.
Fair at Wake Forest/Rolesville Middle School in the Raleigh area. Starts at 8 a.m, Soccer Field. Contact: Deborah Scherr-Freedman, 919-554-8440
April 22 (Earth Day):
1) A major in-school Earth Day program will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Lacy Elementary School in Raleigh, which consistently puts on major programs to honor Earth Day. The students will view a pollution prevention exhibit and attend classes on red wolves and the lives of spiders put on by staff of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. The school calls its program -- "R E S P E C T -- That's what Earth Day means to Me!" Contact: Clarice Moran, Lacy PTA, 919-510-9777
2) DENR's Division of Air Quality will join IBM in Research Triangle Park for a company-wide observance of Earth Day: an exhibit will figure prominently in the observance to be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Contact: Tom Mather, 919-715-7408
3) The 25 years of the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) will be the topic for a special Open Net program at 9 p.m. Contact: Alison Davis, 919-715-7357
4) Members and friends of the Cape Fear River Assembly will gather in Fayetteville at 5 p.m. to observe Earth Day by dedicating the signs identifying the Cape Fear River Basin. The two-day meeting also will feature presentations on groundwater issues and hydrologic modeling for the Cape Fear River Basin. Contact: Don Freeman, 910-223-4920
5) The Division of Marine Fisheries and the N.C. Aquarium at Roanoke Island will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. to christen the new Marine Patrol vessel, with the "Name the Boat" contest winner taken on a ride. A hard-hat tour of the new Roanoke Island Aquarium may be arranged for the media and public. Contact: Nancy Fish, 919-726-7021
6) The popular puppet show on air quality will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. Contact: Tom Mather, 919-715-7408
7) Pine Knoll Shores and Fort Fisher Aquariums will offer free admission to celebrate Earth Day. Contact: Lisa Schell, 919-733-2290
8) DENR volunteers will gather beside the Archdale Building in Raleigh to plant butterfly attracting plants and help dedicate the long-awaited Environmental Education Garden, a project of the Office of Environmental Education. Starts at 10 a.m. Contact: Lin Frye, 919-733-0711
9) The North Carolina Zoo will hold its Earth Day Luncheon Encounter from noon to 1 p.m It will include the "Recycling at the Zoo" video and a revised Recycling at the Zoo Card. Contact: Rod Hackney, 336-8798-7204
10) The DENR Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance will be mailing post cards to thousands of school-age children; waste reduction and recycling will be the message. Contact: Sharon Gladwell, 919-715-6514
April 23: "Forest Festival" will be staged at Root Elementary School in Raleigh from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. to observe Earth Day. Staff from several DENR divisions will join federal agencies and environmental groups to help celebrate the day. Contact: Katherine Ball, 919-881-4940
April 24: Ground-breaking ceremonies will be held at 10 a. m. for the expansion of the Fort Fisher Aquarium on Roanoke Island. Contact: Lisa Schell, 919-733-2290.
DENR's Division of Air Quality will take its air quality exhibit to Greensboro for the city's Public Health Day. Contact: Tom Mather, 919-715-7408
For more information on any of the Earth Day or Earth Week events, contact Don Reuter at 919-715-4112.
Date Posted: April 16
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