Well, actually the event is on May 4th 10am - 4pm, but we’re celebrating Cinco de Mayo nevertheless.

The event is sponsored by bottleandcan.com and we’re all grateful for the support we’re receiving from them.  They will have a big presence, along with games, LOTS of crafts, musica y comidas.

So, let’s shake the maracas, dance a little hat dance and eat a lot of yummy food!

Our Children’s Earth Day @ the STAR ECO Station has no rivals because there is no one else like STAR Education’s Children’s Earth Day event.  Hundreds of children will appear on one of two stages to sing, dance, drum, and throughly entertain the visiting families joined together to celebrate Mother Earth.    Professional entertainers will join the novices and all are there for the same reasons.  We are all mightily concerned about our environment.  Elected officials including our local Senator, the Honorable  Mark Ridley-Thomas, Culver City’s Mayor Alan Corlin and some of the other council members from Culver City,  including Scott Malsin, Steve Rose and Gary Silbiger will be on hand at noon to be intrduced and possibly reflect on the importance of this event.

There will be many teen stars on-site to sign autographs and some will even perform on stage.  We understand Romeo is introducing his new book and will be bringing along GeeGee the giraffe.  He’ll have some items to give out and sign some autographs as well.

It is easy to teach kids about the environment.  It is difficult for us to change our ways.  While we’re teaching the kids we probably ought to listen to the lessons we teach and  follow them as a way of being good mentors, not the old “do as I say, not as I do” scenario.

Yes, we’re soliciting groups and organizations - individuals as well interested in hands on works.  Saturday, April 26th after 9 am is the beginning of the set-up process for the huge event.  We’ll wind down in the afternoon and start up again after 7 am on Sunday, April 27th.

Volunteers are needed to

• sweep the parking lot
• build booths
• water the planters
• rake the sand
• move the picnic tables
• move “things” from inside the STAR ECO Station to the front of the building
• help decorate booths
this all on Saturday.

On Sunday volunteers will
• help man (or woman) booths
• be runners
• distribute snacks to vendors
• help at the check-in, volunteer & Welcome booths
• man (or woman) the doors of the ECO Station
• pick up rash
• help guide the students onto the stages
• distribute give-a-ways
• run game booths
• be entertained by all of the kid performers!
• learn a lot about the environment while helping run the event!
• help dismantle the event
• participate in an after-hours pizza party if they/you stay to hep clean up

Interested persons, High School age and up can download a volunteer form from the below address and bring it on the day you volunteer.  Individuals under the age of 18 MUST have the form signed by their custodial adult.  http://starinc.brinkster.net/ecostation/ECO%20PDFs/Volunteer.pdf

Bring the completed forms to the volunteer check-in booth and “get dirty”!

Thank you

To the first 500 families…

We have, for the first 500 families, really neat bags from the California Department of Conservation filled with eco goodies and STAR literature.  When the families leave the event they will be able to add even more goodies from many of the organizations that have promised to bring their “wares” to share at the event.

This is not to say that people arriving later in the day won’t get anything as there will be lots of opportunities to visit vendors and receive free things.  Aquafina will be there all day with water, Honda has bags to distribute, Soyjoy has the mid-day snack bars to munch on as does Cliff Bars.   Many of the environmental booths will offer instruction throughout the day and that is sure to be worth a lot in the long run if we listen to their words.

The California Department of Conservation is bringing a really neat trailer all about Bottle & Cans, their newest target area.  We’ve seen picture of the display and will have it prominently placed so visitors can appreciate that important message.   Interestingly, Aquafina is bringing along some really beautiful bins for used bottles.  So, the really LOUD message at our event will be to “leave no trace” and then we’ll all have less to clean up after the event!

Originally the intent of the STAR ECO Station’s Earth Day celebration was actually an opportunity of letting the local community know there was such a thing as Earth Day and that the STAR ECO Station, at that time the “Exploration Station”, was worthy of attendance and a source of all thing “enviro”!

Today’s Earth Day observation throughout the world focuses on a myriad of areas included but not limited to the environment as a whole; animal welfare, green shopping, minimizing our carbon footprint and on and on. There are as many entities celebrating and educating as their are individual focuses. Each is important and worthy of our time. Each teaches us that we are the custodians of the world in which we live.

The STAR ECO Stations’ Earth Day event allows, encourages, welcomes many of the organization, (NGOs), governmental agencies and others to share, educate and even sell environmental awareness all in one location.

Readers are still welcome to order a booth space and participate in the eventhttp://starinc.brinkster.net/ecostation/ECO%20PDFs/vendor%20app.pdf as a “supplier” of information or be a consumer of education and share with your family.

One of my favorites, the California Department of Conservation, featuring Recycle Rex, is bringing down their new trailer and will have a really big display for visitors to learn from at our ECO Station’s Earth Day event on April 27th.  A new entry, Aquafina, will be supplying the water for the entire event and we’re really appreciative of their efforts on our behalf.

With still a month to go many of our annual booth participants have signed up and will display educational information and some of the new GREEN vendors are bringing items completely in line with the theme of Earth Day.  Eco Totables, Heal the Bay, KISS FM, IZZY - diverse entities all coming to share @ our annual event.

Watch this blog as I continue to drop a name or three.

The Earth Day Committee regularly meets and has made decisions that will greatly enhance this year’s event. In the past we’ve had live entertainment all day on one stage. We’ve had to shoo each group off to make sure the next act had enough on-stage time. There will be two stages this year insuring more than adequate on-stage time for all of the performers. We’re all pretty excited about this development as it expands our annual offerings.
Daily the list grows as to the line up and this include the special guests that will be introduced at noon.

Interest in the STAR ECO Station’s Children’s Earth Day event is keeping the phones ringing.

A gentle reminder for those interested in manning (or womaning) their own booth, application forms are downloadable from our site http://ecostation.org and as always, we reserve the right to accept or reject applications. Faxing them in is fine as well as snail mail.

Sunday, April 27^th, 10am – 4pm, will be the 8^th year the STAR ECO Station sponsors its own Earth Day observance.  “Taking it to the Streets” has a new meaning at ECO since the event is in our parking lot and on Pearson, our side street. 

Environmental organizations, governmental agencies, non-profits, STAR (Science Theater Art & Recreation) sites and green vendors man booths replete with information, give-a-ways, games, crafts, food & beverages, and more information.  This year there will be two stages with live entertainment all day long. 

Earth Day @ the STAR ECO Station is a day designed to teach families about their place on this planet and how they can help sustain that life.  The many organizations that participate have important messages to share.  The governmental agencies enjoy the event as their audience is anxious to hear about and learn about working together and solving global issues.  The non-profits that participate annually look to the families to support their various efforts on behalf of children and families – the recipients of the agencies’ efforts.   All of the STAR Education sites entertain the children present by offering eco friendly games and crafts – all especially designed for this one day, but with a message that everyday is really Earth Day.

The STAR ECO Station will host tours of the environmental science and wildlife rescue center to those wanting to spend some quality time with the inhabitants inside.  Birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, insects and interesting exhibits are all inside the ECO Station.

In September 1969, at a conference in Seattle, Washington, U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson announced that in the spring of 1970 there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration, an environmental teach-in, on the environment. Earth Day founder Nelson first proposed the nationwide environmental protest to thrust the environment onto the national agenda. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. Senator Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest honor given to civilians in the United States — for his role as Earth Day founder.

Earth Day is now observed each year on April 22^nd by more than 500 million people and national governments in 175 countries

The STAR ECO Station is a proud participant of the Earth Day Network and has sponsored an observance of Earth Day for the past 10 years through auspices of the STAR Exploration Station and now the STAR ECO Station.

Founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide. Earth Day Network is a driving force steering environmental awareness around the world. Through Earth Day Network, activists connect, interact, and have an impact on their communities, and create positive change in local, national, and global policies. Earth Day Network’s international network reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, while the domestic program engages 5,000 groups and over 25,000 educators coordinating millions of community development and environmental protection activities throughout the year. Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in Earth Day Network campaigns every year.

STAR ECO Station’s observance of Earth Day is generally on the weekend following the weekday occurrence of Earth Day in order to accommodate working families. The event is replete with environmental organizations, local, governmental agencies, utility companies, GREEN vendors, STAR Education program sites craft and game booths, restaurant booths and others.

The event is held outdoors of the STAR ECO Station and guided tours of the environmental science and wildlife rescue facility complete the all day program of celebrating Mother Earth.

“A community event celebrating the precious lives of cats and dogs”

Calling all dog and cat lovers! Sunday, January 27th, STAR ECO Station will host a dog and cat benefit in celebration of the precious lives of our furry, fun-loving friends.

This fun-filled event will include pet adoptions and a fabulous training on caring for your animals, given by veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad. We will also have a dog training session given by Hollywood dog trainer, Brandon McMillan. The fur-filled festivities will begin at 10 am, and will run until 4 pm. So, if you’re a friend to snuggly, cuddly felines and pups, come join us and scoop one up!

WHAT? STAR ECO Station presents: “Cause for Paws”
WHEN? Sunday, January 27, 2008, 10 am - 4pm
WHERE? STAR ECO Station, 10117 West Jefferson Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
How Much? FREE!
****Tours of the STAR ECO Station are $6 for kids (16 and under), $7 for seniors (65 and over) and for adults.