Kenyon College’s Brown Family Environmental Center (BFEC) will host its annual “Keep It Wild” festival featuring games and live music for Earth Day on Saturday, April 20. The free, family-friendly event that is open to the public will take place from noon to 4 p.m. at 9781 Laymon Road in Gambier.
The Earth Day celebration will include a variety of activities, vendors and creatures. BFEC Post-Baccalaureate Fellow Claire Haynes, a 2023 Kenyon graduate who helped plan the event, said she is particularly excited about the wolves coming from the Ohio Canid Center in Heath, Ohio, which will be a new activity this year.
“They're really special animals, once native to Ohio,” she said. “I think it'll be really cool for people to learn more about them.”
In addition, the Ohio Bird Sanctuary from Mansfield, Ohio, will give an hour-long presentation featuring several live birds of prey, and The Ohio State University’s United Titanium Bug Zoo will be on hand with live insects and other arthropods. Kenyon ECO (Environmental Campus Organization) will have a table at the event to make seed bombs, which are balls of mud with wildflower seeds in them.
For those looking to take something home, there will be a number of environmentally-focused vendors on site. Natives in Harmony will sell plants from central Ohio, and Broken Oak Farm will offer an array of home goods. There will be two food trucks at the event, as well: Green Vibes Juice Truck will offer drinks and Chef Meagan’s Food Truck will serve farm-to-table cuisine.
There also are organizations providing information on how visitors can be more environmentally conscious. The Knox Soil and Water Conservation District will focus on conservation efforts at home, and the Knox County Local Food Council will highlight how to eat healthy foods.
And while people can enjoy the sounds of nature at the BFEC — a 610-acre preserve — there also will be live bands performing. These will include BABA NGIDA, a West African traditional band; and three Kenyon student bands, Aidan Puntes, Those Rusty Strings and Dire Coyote.