NC Aquarium hosting croak for conservation, race for planet to celebrate Earth Day
FORT FISHER, NC (WWAY) — The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is hosting two family-friends events leading up to Earth Day that involve croaking or running.
Earth Day is on Monday, April 22, but you can start celebrating the weekend before at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
First, you can join the chorus to save the frogs at the Community Croak for Conservation on Saturday, April 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. According to communications manager Dey Rossell, visitors will hear loud and clear how they can and why they should protect frogs.
Environmental educators from the Aquarium will post up at three stations with a mission to challenge visitors to identify frog calls, share an encounter with a state-endangered Carolina gopher frog, and inspire conservation action through tracking the life cycle of a frog. Visitors will collect stamps on a passport at each station and take home a prize once they’ve completed the frog lifecycle and their passport is full.
The event is included with your general admission ticket. Advance tickets are required. Click here to read more about the event and get tickets.
Then, on Sunday, April 21, the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is hosting a Race for the Planet to support and encourage the aquarium’s green initiatives.
Each year, the Race for the Planet welcomes racers of all skill levels with a fun, no-pressure atmosphere to do something healthy for themselves and for the planet.
This year, WWAY meteorologist Ramel Carpenter will be running in the 5k.
There are three different race options. There is an in-person 5k, one mile fun run, and a virtual 5k. You can race anywhere you want in the virtual 5k between April 21-28. It all starts Sunday at the aquarium at 8 a.m. All race proceeds support the NCAFF Green Team through the North Carolina Aquarium Society. The aquarium says your thoughtful action helps us take greater action for the planet, reducing the carbon footprint of the event and expanding programs for hard-to-recycle materials and organic waste composting, and reducing single-use plastic.
Here are just a few ideas of actions you can take to be a Good Steward of our Planet:
Skip the straw. Each year, people in the US use enough straws to wrap around the earth 2.5 times. Straws are easily carried by the wind leading them to litter our beaches, oceans and waterways. Straws are one of the top 5 items found during beach sweeps in the US.
- Turn it off. Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of electricity use in office buildings. Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you’re leaving any room for 15 minutes or more. Same goes for electronics; switch off power strips and unplug electrical devices when you’re not using them.
- Dial it down. Moving your thermostat down just two degrees in winter and up two degrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
- Carpool to the Race.
- Bring your own water bottle to the race.
- Reuse your race safety pins.
There will also be a mobile household hazardous waste and electronics recycling drive. They will be collecting the following items: Acids (bowl cleaners, driveway cleaners, etc.), aerosols, antifreeze, ballasts, batteries – including alkaline, zinc-carbon, zinc-air, lithium, sealed lead-acid, and any type of rechargeable battery, caustics (drain cleaners, lye, borax), CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes, cell phones (including chargers, batteries, and ear buds), compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), tubes and bulbs from residential properties only (Maximum 8′ length on CFL tubes), cooking oil, electronics, fertilizers – solid or liquid, flammable Liquids, fuels, herbicides / fungicides, and much more. Click here for the full list.
