2012 Earth Day Festival on April 14 at Riverfront Park

Charleston County’s Environmental Management Department will host the 2012 Earth Day Festival on Saturday, April 14, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. The new location for this year’s festival is Riverfront Park on the former Naval Base in North Charleston.

The County’s 13th Annual Earth Day Festival is a celebration of Charleston County’s environmental community. The festival provides hands-on educational opportunities highlighting Charleston County’s environmental programs and community in an entertaining atmosphere.

“Our Annual Earth Day Festival provides an ideal opportunity for Lowcountry residents to learn how they can make a difference in our community at home, work and play,” said Carolyn Carusos, Charleston County’s Environmental Management Recycling Programs Manager. “The new location for this year’s festival at Riverfront Park offers a beautiful waterfront setting to enjoy all the diverse, fun, family-oriented activities.”

Charleston County’s Earth Day Festival has attracted as many as 8,000 people to the free event each year. All participants are asked to commit to reducing waste at the event. Resource Recycling Centers will be strategically located throughout the park to collect recyclable materials and organic waste generated by attendees.

Charleston County’s Earth Day Art Contest was held again this year. Students in grades kindergarten through sixth grade were asked to submit drawings on Earth Day subjects with the theme of “Put Your Green Foot Forward.” The winning artwork will be featured at the event and will be printed on the back of the volunteers’ T-shirts.

Schedule of Events:

Main Stage

• 11:30 a.m.: Event kickoff with Bishop England’s Marching Band
• 12 p.m.: Opening remarks by Charleston County Council Representatives in attendance / Awards & recognition of Earth Day art contest winners and recognition of festival volunteers
• 12:30 p.m.: “We All Live Downstream” by speaker Kim Counts with the Ashley Cooper Stormwater Education Consortium
• 1 p.m.: Live performance by Shrimp City Slim, piano/vocals, specializing in Lowcountry blues & original songs
• 2 p.m.: Live performance by The 3 Dudes, Charleston’s youngest & most rocking rock band
• 3 p.m.: Live performance by Yeehaw Junction, Charleston's premier bluegrass band specializing in playing traditional bluegrass music
• 4 p.m.: Live performance by Adande African Drum & Dance Company, exploring the elements of history and entertainment combined in a single musical experience

Educational Stage

• 12:30 p.m.: Nature walk with Christine Poole / Music provided by singer, songwriter Estee Gabay
• 1 p.m.: Storytelling by Hawk Hurst
• 1:30 p.m.: Mad Science demonstration
• 2 p.m.: Birds of Prey demonstration by Stephen Schabel with The Avian Conservation Center
• 2:30 p.m.: Storytelling by Hawk Hurst
• 3 p.m.: Nature walk with Christine Poole/Reading of “The Lorax” by Bronwyn Santos with Charleston County Environmental Management
• 3:30 p.m.: Judo demonstration by Tom Rieff with Charleston Martial Arts

Other Highlights of the 2012 Earth Day Festival:

Over 60 environmental activities and educational displays on alternative energy, conservation, local and organic agriculture, animals and habitat preservation, litter, water and air quality, seedlings, recycling and composting

• Hands-on fun with Mad Science play stations
• Water buffalo by Charleston Water Systems
• Pet Helpers will be on site providing information on animal rescue and adoptable animals
• Local food vendors and food trucks offering classic festival fare plus some vegetarian options
• Returning Trash-to-Treasure guest, The Yo Art Project, to assist with craft-making using recycled materials

Charleston County Environmental Management staff will:

• Collect electronic waste, such as old TVs and computers for recycling. Bring your unwanted electronic items with you to avoid these items being disposed of in the landfill.
• Provide reusable bag giveaways for first 100 attendees
• Feature demonstrations showing the new single stream recycling truck
• Host a recycling tent with information, giveaways and prizes
• Have recycling bins for available for residents to take home
• Provide home compost information, backyard composting demonstrations and free compost samples

Plus a whole day of fun activities, prize drawings, contests and interactive live performances

Charleston County Government’s Environmental Management Department thanks their contributors:
City of North Charleston
S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control

For more information on recycling or the Earth Day Festival, visit recycle.charlestoncounty.org or call (843) 720-7111.

North Charleston selected for national health & wellness effort

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), and the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) selected North Charleston and 39 other U.S. communities to advance the nation’s efforts to prevent chronic diseases and related risk factors through local collaboration. Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental ChangE (ACHIEVE) is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Healthy Communities Program. ACHIEVE brings leaders together from all sectors of a region to build healthier communities by promoting policy, systems, and environmental change strategies that focus on physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

The ACHIEVE approach promotes health through lifestyle and environmental improvements, such as safe locations for physical activity and increased access to healthy food options at schools, worksites, places of worship and in the general community.

ACHIEVE combines the expertise of state and local governments and public health departments with the experience of community-based organizations that presently provide support and outreach. North Charleston, like the other 39 ACHIEVE communities, will engage and mobilize leaders in the local community to respond to the public health challenges of obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition.

“We are not the healthiest nation by a long shot,” said Robert M. Pestronk, NACCHO’s executive director. “These partnerships create intentional momentum in the right direction, based on successful strategies at work, home, and play to reduce our nation’s burden of chronic disease.”

The South Carolina DHEC Public Health Region 7 office was selected for ACHIEVE after a competitive review process. The local effort addresses the critical issue of obesity and the availability of healthy food in the southern end of the City of North Charleston through assessment and planning in the first year of the grant.

North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey stated, “Our local health departments play a key role in providing a cohesive response to lifestyle and health challenges through a team based approach. By establishing a network of community organizations, ACHIEVE increases the opportunities and awareness of active living and healthy eating. Laying a foundation for positive lifestyle choices allows for the reduction of chronic diseases that would otherwise plague our community in the future. Mayor Summey continued, “I salute our local ACHIEVE and their key initiative to increase accessibility to healthy foods in the southernmost portions of North Charleston.”

For a complete listing of all funded communities, visit the ACHIEVE website at www.achievecommunities.org or CDC’s Healthy Communities Program’s website at www.cdc.gov/healthycommunitiesprogram. Find North Charleston information at www.northcharleston.org.

Members serving on the North Charleston ACHIEVE team include:

• Karla Beckwith, MUS, RD, LD, Director of Nutrition/Clinic Manager, SC DHEC Region 7
• Anne Bergin, Director of Health, Trident United Way
• Sharon Crossley, RDH, MPH, Health Educator, SC DHEC Region 7
• Vonie Gilreath, Mobility Manager, BCD Council of Governments
• Kyle Lahm, Coordinator, City of North Charleston Mayor’s Office on Ed., Youth and Family
• Patricia Mack, Volunteer, Tri-County Black Nurses Association
• Wannetta Mallette, CMP Project Manager, LAMC, City of North Charleston & SCSPA
• Dr. Lisa Robinson, Community & Faith-Based Advocate
• Katy Simison, Magnet Coordinator, Chicora School of Communications
• Brenda Strople, RN, District 4 Nurse Liaison, CCSD Office of Health Services
• Dr. Gwendolyn Todd-Houston, Director, Franklin C Fetter Clinic
• Deborah Williamson DHA, MSN, CNM, Associate Dean of Practice, MUSC College of Nursing

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation's 2800 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments protect and promote the health and well-being of their communities.