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EarthFest 2013: Allen's annual conservation festival takes place next month

Photos courtesy of Scott White – Visitors to last year's EarthFest event took part in a wealth of activities promoting the outdoors, including kayaking and model boat races.
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
Allen will return to its roots next month when a group of area nonprofits host EarthFest 2013, an annual event aimed at promoting conservation and community health.
“Five years ago, we had a meeting of local conservation leaders looking for a way to promote healthy living and the environment and the city of Allen,” said event organizer Donna Kliewer, who is the city's waste services manager and helps run Keep Allen Beautiful.
This year's EarthFest will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 6 at the Connemara Meadow Preserve. The 72-acre preserve is part of the Connemara Conservancy, a land trust headquartered in Allen that is among the organizers of the event.
The free event will feature activities aimed at educating visitors about the environment including a photo contest, nature walks, bird watching, kayaking and canoing demonstrations, and a variety of wildlife presentations.
Kliewer said that every group presenting at the event will provide a hands-on activity, including a water trailer that teaches visitors about erosion control, kite flying and a cast-iron cooking demonstration.
“We want people to get a sense of place in Allen,” she said.
More than 20 groups will take part in the festival, which is being sponsored by Watters Creek at Montgomery Farm, the Alliance For A Healthier Allen, Recreational Equipment, Inc. and Montgomery Farm.
Groups participating in the event include the Heard Museum, the Allen Garden Club, the city of Allen and the Blackland Prairie Raptor Center, which promotes the conservation of birds of prey and their habitats.
Keep Allen Beautiful will sponsor a community cleanup of Rowlett Creek prior to EarthFest. Rowlett Creek traverses the entrance of the meadow preserve and becomes a depository for garbage not disposed of properly, Kliewer said.
For information on EarthFest, visit facebook.com/Earthfest2013?ref=stream&filter=1.
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