Archives > Allen American > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Meadow Preserve opens for EarthFest 2012
Photo courtesy of Connemara Conservancy -- EarthFest 2011, pictured above, drew 800 visitors last April. Like last year's event, EarthFest 2012 will feature a variety of nonprofits, businesses and schools offering outdoor-themed activities for visitors of all ages. The event is set for April 7 at The Connemara Meadow Preserve.
By Conner Hammett, chammett@starlocalnews.com
Connemara Conservancy is teaming up with local businesses and community organizations to give Allen residents a little extra outdoor exposure.
EarthFest 2012 is the fourth event of its kind held by the nonprofit, and the third to be held at The Meadow Preserve, an unspoiled 72-acre natural space near the Montgomery Farm development in west Allen.
More than 25 nonprofits, businesses, schools and local organizations will have booths set up along old Tatum Road, which leads to the meadow, to let visitors know what they're doing to promote outdoor activities and how families can get involved.
Donna Kliewer with Keep Allen Beautiful and the city's waste services department is co-chairing the event this year with Olson Elementary School teacher Kirk Evans.
Kliewer said the event not only serves to showcase the natural beauty of the property but educate visitors that there's more to their hometown than shopping centers, modern entertainment and development.
"What we want to do is educate the community about the community," she said. "We want to give you a sense of place; that your place starts at home. A lot of people don't understand that Allen has some very unique features and some of them are environmental."
Among those features, Kliewer said, are the city's creeks, greenbelt areas and, of course, the Meadow itself, which allows residents to connect with their city's agricultural and environmental history.
"Everything starts at home, so if you start with people caring about spaces at home in Allen, when they leave home and go throughout the world they take it with them," she said. "It's sort of like a ripple effect."
The event started out as "Seeding a Healthy Community," a health-and-environmental based event at Watters Creek based on the Paul Fleischmann book "Seedfolks." Since then, the event has grown exponentially, drawing 800 attendees last year, and sharpened its focus to local outdoor awareness.
"Now we're really more in a natural setting, which is kind of where we wanted to be, and we want to show the community the benefits of what we have right here in Allen," Evans said.
The event will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Meadow is at the southwest corner of Bethany Drive and Alma Drive. For information, visit www.connemaraconservancy.org or www.facebook.com/EarthFest2012.
"The function of the event really is just to celebrate some of the really great natural things that we have here in North Texas, specifically in Allen," said Sandra Greenway, executive director of Connemara. "I think Allen is one of the leading cities in the DFW Metroplex in terms of thinking green and being conscious of the choices that you make and appreciating smart development; how man and nature can live together."
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
