GAMBIER — Using the theme “Healthy People, Healthy World,” the second annual Earth Day Health Expo took place at the Kenyon Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.
The event began at 9 a.m. with the Earth Day Challenge Marathon, which began in Mount Vernon and ended in Gambier, and drew more than 100 runners.
At noon, a large crowd descended on the KAC — including many parents with children — and wandered past booths and tables offering health, educational and environmental information of all kinds. Knox Out Tobacco was represented, as was the Knox County Department of Health with cholesterol screenings and information on radon, Knox Community Hospital with glucose screenings, the Knox County Parks Department, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Knox County Citizen Corps and many more.
Vendors sold their wares or provided activities for children, as did Head Start and the Help Me Grow program. Kenyon students helped children roll pine cones in peanut butter and bird seed to make treats for wild birds. Two bands — The Great Mad Hoax and Tin Hearts — provided eclectic music, and “Pocketful O’Gimmick” played contra music for dancers.
Brownie leader Michelle Garcia brought Brownie Scout Troop 616 along to join in the fun.
Asked about the meaning of Earth Day, 8-year-old Brownie Retta Newlon said, “I think it’s the way you help the planet.”
Cody Garcia, age 10, who was helping his mother but who clearly was not part of the Brownie troop, said, “I think it’s fun because we had all these activities to do.” He was holding a Styrofoam cup filled with soil in which he had planted a squash seed to take home.
Abbi Palm, 7, who planted a pumpkin seed in her cup, said Earth Day is “cool.”
“I think it’s cool because you get to learn more about the earth,” said Cassidy Garcia, 9.
“It’s really neat and the little kids get to learn about Earth Day. It’s neat for us [older kids] too,” said Sedona Ferenbaugh, 9.
The DKMM Sanitary District brought along a poster that explained the “life expectancy” of various castoffs. While banana and orange peelings degrade in two to five weeks, wool socks will be around for one to five years, plastic bags from 10 to 20 years, disposable diapers about 600 years and plastic water bottles may just outlive the planet.
Master Gardeners Barbara McIntyre and Bob Giehl were promoting what they called “fitness in gardening” with stretching exercises to get gardeners’ muscles in shape for spring and ergonomic tools that are easier on the gardener than traditional ones.
At the farmers market, Elli Wheeler of Howard was selling candy Buckeyes, banana bread, fudge and cookies.
“I make it all myself,” said Wheeler, who will be selling this summer at the Mount Vernon Farmers Market.
Other market vendors were selling maple syrup, grass-fed beef, nut butters and fresh lettuce.
The Earth Day Expo was sponsored by the BFEC, Knox County Health Department, Knox Community Hospital, Kenyon College Wellness Initiative, OSU Extension, Knox County Park District and the Kenyon Athletic Center, with financial support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Y-Not Cycling and Fitness of Mount Vernon.
