Aware of the water around them

June Casagrande

Local environmentalists are hoping that people who take part in the

Great Earth Walk on May 1 will put up their feet and stay a while

after the walk is over.

This year, the Newport Bay Naturalists and Friends are kicking off

a new event to promote eco-consciousness in the community.

Estuary Awareness Day will include environmental exhibits, arts

and crafts for children, nature education stations, free boat tours

of the bay and entertainment by local high school bands.

“It’s a family-oriented event, and the intention is that as the

families come through and participate in these activities and look at

the booths and they’ll start to understand the bigger picture of how

what they do upstream affects the water quality,” said Roger Mallett,

executive director of the Naturalists and Friends.

An estuary, as Mallett hopes many will learn, is where fresh water

streams and runoff meet the salt water of an ocean or bay. In Newport

Beach, it’s also where litter from as far away as Riverside finds its

way into the ocean.

Newport’s Back Bay estuary also includes salt marshes that are

home to species such as the endangered light-footed clapper rail.

Estuary Awareness Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. May

1, right after the Earth walk ends.

“The idea is the Earth walk takes place in the morning, then

hopefully, people will mosey over to our Estuary Awareness Day,” said

Dennis Baker, a board member of the Newport Bay Naturalists and

Friends.