Get friendly with Earth Day

For locals looking for ways to commemorate Earth Day next weekend, there is plenty to do.

The weekend will kick off with an all-ages volunteer opportunity Saturday, followed by a fun family celebration Sunday.

BE THE CHANGE

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust, in conjunction with the California Department of Fish and Game and the California State Parks Department, is seeking volunteers for native planting and a beach cleanup the morning of April 18. Refreshments will be served at the all-ages event, and volunteers will be able to watch the film “Synthetic Sea,” check out various community group booths and the area’s new interpretive space, and meet the Land Trust board of directors and members.

Of note will be two new, full-color interpretive kiosks, featuring more than 70 photos of plants and animals, created through grants from the Rotary Club of Huntington Beach, that replaced kiosks that were stolen by vandals last year.

The “Feast at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve” kiosks detail the variety of habitats that allow such diversity of wildlife at the reserve, including coastal sand dunes, saltwater and freshwater wetlands, eucalyptus woods, coastal sage scrub, and grasslands.

“If you haven’t been out to Bolsa Chica lately, it is breathtaking in the spring, and with the new kiosks a wonderful addition is added to the experience,” said Land Trust Executive Director Flossie Horgan,

Free parking will be provided for volunteers across from the Reserve at the Bolsa Chica State Beach.

There is no advance notice required to be on the cleanup crew, but the first 200 people to pre-register will be invited to help plant 800 native plants on the mesa. To register, call Kim Kolpin at (714) 717-6304 or e-mail kkolpin@socal.rr.com.

THINK GREEN

Rainbow Disposal and the city of Huntington Beach have joined forces during Environmental Month to bring a Centennial Earth Day Celebration on April 19 to area residents, with games, food, information, prizes and a whole lot of trash.

What began as a small event quickly morphed in organizers’ minds into an educational centennial party for the whole family.

Each participant will be given a passport to be stamped as they make their way through dozens of booths, from a vermicomposting display to the Surfrider Foundation to the Monarch Butterfly Grove; those with “completed” passports will be invited to spin a wheel when they exit for prizes.

Adults are asked to bring their household hazardous waste to the celebration for safe disposal, along with papers they wish to have securely shredded by the city and Police Department on-site.

Accepted hazardous waste materials include paint, pesticides, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and tubes, and electronic waste.

One of the highlights of the day will be the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) Experience, in which kids and their families will sort clean recycling materials, just like Rainbow’s employees do.

Kids who are at least 42 inches tall will don aprons and gloves to partake in the MRF Experience; demand will be high, so “fast passes” will be distributed for specific entrance times, like at amusement parks.

Kids also will be able to view fellow students’ artwork in the Centennial Passageway, and check out big vehicles like camera trucks, vactor trucks, loaders and tree-lift vehicles from the public works departments of Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.

Also on view will be fuel-efficient vehicles like an all-electric roadster and energy conservation displays from utilities and water companies, organizers said.

The Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts will perform regularly throughout the day, including a recycled trash bag fashion show; Jerry Hart, the Professor of Trashology, will entertain; and local service organizations will sell everything from hot dogs to cupcakes to Centennial coins. A full complement of “green” vendors will sell everything from recycled paint to electric bikes to reusable wine bags.

Free parking will be available on Nichols Street.

IF YOU GO

WHO: Bolsa Chica Land Trust

WHAT: Beach cleanup and native planting

WHEN: 9 a.m. to noon April 18

WHERE: Bolsa Chica; free parking at state beach

COST: Free

INFO: (714) 846-1001 or bolsachicalandtrust.org

WHO: Rainbow Disposal and the city of Huntington Beach

WHAT: Earth Day Celebration

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 19

WHERE: Rainbow Disposal, 17121 Nichols St., Huntington Beach

COST: Free

INFO: (714) 847-3581 or rainbowdisposal.com

Reporter CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.