Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By CHARITY SMITH
MERCER, Wis. — The Mercer Public Library’s Earth Day Fair returned to the Mercer Community Center on Saturday after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fair provided an opportunity for people to learn about Earth-friendly opportunities and organizations in the community.
More than 100 people attended the event, which was comprised of 14 vendors and featured a virtual presentation from April Hepokoski, founder of the Zero-Waste Duluth Facebook page. She spoke about ways to reduce one’s environmental impact with zero-waste living. Hepokoski also blogs at Zero-Waste Nature School, and is a contributing author to the book Zero-Waste Kids edited by Rob Greenfield.
Librarian Teresa Schmidt said many people seemed very interested in Hepokoski’s suggestions and one patron suggested the library look at leaving zero waste.
Some of the other participating organizations included the Mercer Leo Club, University of Wisconsin-Madison Iron County Extension, Mercer Seed Library, Wolverine Nordic Trails, North Lakeland Discovery Center, Northwoods Wildlife & Wetlands Club, North Country National Scenic Trail’s Heritage Chapter, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department, Woods and Blooms Garden Club, Iron County Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts (ICORE), Loony Paddlers and MECCA Trails.
“I thought it was a great event,” said Schmidt. “I was really pleased with the turnout. The organizations really went all out to bring things to help explain what they do. It was a really positive event.”
Many of the booths included earth-friendly activities and crafts for kids. Members of the Woods & Blooms Garden Club dressed as bumble bees as they helped kids plant flower seeds in plastic cups and decorate them with flower cutouts and bees as a Mother’s Day gift. Wisconsin DNR officials brought some activity books for kids to complete through the summer in order to earn a patch. They also had kids write down some Earth friendly ideas on a leaf, in an effort to form a tree on the wall.
Mercer School art students, under the direction of Craig Griffin, created Earth Day T-shirt designs earlier this month as part of a contest sponsored by the Friends of the Library and the winners were recognized during the fair. Competing in age groups, the top designs were by Braea Zimmerman, first grade; Hadleigh Dufrane, second grade; Stella Thompson, fifth grade; Brooklyn Kussard, fifth grade; Kaylee Powers, seventh grade; and Eureka Skalla, seventh grade. Their artwork was judged based on their Earth Day message, quality of design, and their originality and creativity.
The Librarians Choice Award went to Josephine Galloway, fourth grade. Schmidt said that while all the designs were good, Galloway’s design “just stood up.” Galloway’s design was of a pair of hands holding up the earth.
“I thought the Earth Day Fair was a wonderful community gathering that gave local organizations and attendees an opportunity to share information and ideas,” said Beth Wetzler, president of the Friends of the Mercer Public Library.
Schmidt said the library’s next big event will be the book sale at the end of May. She said they are already collecting book donations for the event.