During the period of almost two decades since the nation and Louisiana had celebrated the original Earth Day, the state had developed an ensemble of environmentalists who helped shape legislation to protect Louisiana's forested and coastal wetlands, threatened flora and fauna, and air quality. In 1989, solid waste legislation was enacted, becoming the catalyst for recycling and waste reduction programs throughout the state.

And as Earth Day 1990 approached, environmentalists, scientists, educators, and private citizens who had worked to promote a quality environment were ready to celebrate these victories and focus awareness on local and regional environmental issues.

A giant egret glides along tree-shaded Baton Rouge streets during a previous Earth Day Parade. Click for full-size view (115K).

"We wanted to rally the entire community around the environment for the 20th anniversary," says Paul Davidson, Director of The Nature Conservancy's Black Bear Conservation Committee and Chairman of the 1990 Earth Day celebration. "That meant eliminating the polarized view of industry versus the environment and working together to promote the protection of our natural resources."

So what kind of celebration could educate and inform people about the earth, showcasing the partnerships of environmentalists, government, civic groups, private citizens, and industry? The vision of an environmental street festival became the forum for Earth Day 1990 in Louisiana as well as nationwide.

"We knew Baton Rougeans loved festivals, and here was a perfect opportunity to educate thousands of people on their everyday role of protecting the earth," says Jan Bernard, 1995 President of Baton Rouge Earth Day, Inc., and a member of the original Earth Day group. "At the same time it allowed people of all ages the chance to have fun while joining a movement of environmental activism."

Another important aspect of the Earth Day Festival has been the cooperation of industry and environmental groups. From the onset, business and industry have played an important part in the festival through financial and inkind contributions, as well as manpower from their employee volunteer groups.

	Back again at this year's Earth Day in Baton Rouge will be the Environmental Puppet Theater, a kids' favorite in past years. Click for full-size view (119K).

"Our collaborative efforts are an investment in the resources we will be sharing into the year 2000," says Hal Ginn, Vice President of Manufacturing Services for DSM Copolymer and a board member of Earth Day Inc. "Each dollar and each hour of volunteer time we've invested in Earth Day have a far-reaching impact on the residents in the Greater Baton Rouge area."

Five years and a quarter of a million people later, the core group members from 1990 are satisfied that they came up with the right celebration formula. This year's 25^th anniversary will be celebrated Sunday, April 23, in downtown Baton Rouge, capping a week of awareness activities.

Baton Rouge's Earth Day is traditionally one of the largest such events in the nation.

Along with developing community partnerships, always high on the festival's agenda is educating children about the value of Louisiana's natural resources. "One of the most important issues in the 1990's is developing lifestyle changes, including conservation," says Susan Hamilton, Executive Director of Earth Day and also a member of the original planners in 1990. "I believe the Baton Rouge Earth Day Festival is playing a vital role in developing a conservation ethic, and hopefully our children will be the conservation generation so vital to our future."

So what better group to launch the 1995 25th anniversary of Baton Rouge Earth Day than the children and their Earth Day Parade? Elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers donning creative costumes will parade with marching units, banners, and floating displays designed to foster educational awareness of Louisiana and world ecosystems. The parade provides a fun and entertaining way to expand earth consciousness among youth. A companion "All Species" curriculum guide is available to area schools on a per-request basis.

One of the highlights of this year's Children's Village at the festival will be the Banana Slug String Band, a group of three musicians/outdoor

Louisiana's favorite reptile takes to the streets, escorted by friendly humans, during a past Earth Day Festival in Baton Rouge. Click for full-size view (74K).

educators who sing the praises of environmental awareness to young people. The band offers a combination of scientific information and ecological concern with memorable musical messages and humor. By blending rock, blues, jazz, rap, and fun, the Slugs stress the need to love and take care of the earth.

Back by popular demand in the Children's Village will be the Environmental Puppet Theater, an original interactive production created by area teachers, and other activities such as marshmallow roasts on parabolic solar collectors, the assembly of pinecone bird feeders, making junk jewelry out of -- what else? junk, face painting, an authentic Native American tepee and Native American stories, and creating environmental buttons.

Some new Children's Village activities include designing Native American bead necklaces from glossy magazine pages, creating constellation viewers from canisters, recycling twist ties by constructing "twist-tie people," recycling junk mail into beautiful bookmarks, creating worm farms from compost, and more.

An integral part of the festivities is an emphasis on Louisiana's native wildlife and conserving its habitats. Festivalgoers will be shown how to create a backyard habitat in an urban setting. It all starts with wildlife-friendly trees, bushes, flowers, and other flora, arranged in a natural habitat design.

The Joy of Butterflies will feature more than 1,000 butterflies from Dr. Gary Ross's collection, representing specimens from around the world. The butterflies will also be on display at the Louisiana Arts and Science Center Museum in Baton Rouge from April 4 through May 14.

The Triple R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Center will focus on how the family can use simple methods to reduce acquisition of products at home, school, and work; reuse items when possible; and recycle when disposal is the last resort.

	Baton Rouge's Earth Day wouldn't be complete without this huge colorful butterfly, which has become a mascot of sorts. Click for full-size view (44K).

Subjects of some of the exhibits focusing on the home will be how to dispose of used paint safely, how to recycle and reuse ordinary household items, how to reduce yard waste, and how to dispose of used, uncontaminated motor oil at service stations.

Among the features of the all-new Earth Art "gallery" will be a giant pyramid of ecosystems, a "fossil" pile for budding archaeologists, eco-sculpture, and the Louisiana Ark. The ark will hold clay replicas of the state's wildlife molded on-site by youngsters.

At the Earth Walk exhibit, a walkway featuring a number of local environmentally related organizations, festivalgoers can share in projects and activities with such participants as The Nature Conservancy, the Black Bear Conservation Committee, DEQ, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Recycling Task Force.

The festival activities mentioned here are just a sampling of the environmental panorama that will be presented at this year's Baton Rouge Earth Day. A variety of foods and musical entertainment will also be featured.

Crowd projections for the local event total about 90,000. "We can already feel the energy as the Baton Rouge area community prepares for the festival," says Jan Bernard.