PANAMA CITY, FL. (WMBB) – Green thumbs are uniting together for the 54th annual Earth Day.
At Oaks by the Bay Park in St. Andrew’s residents and vendors came out to celebrate earlier Saturday.
The first-ever Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970.
Panama City residents are celebrating just a little early on the 20th at the Oaks by the Bay Park in St. Andrews.
“Well, I’m concerned about the environment and I’m an old hippie, so I always come to the Earth Festival,” resident Jen Morris said.
Saturday’s event included more than 15 different organizations and 55 vendor booths for the farmers market.
“The honey is great. The vegetables are good. All kinds of plants. Great atmosphere, good people,” Morris said.
This year’s Earth Day was put on by the Panama City Quality of Life, the Bay County Audubon Society, and the St. Andrews farmer’s market.
Bay County Commissioner, Tommy Hamm, presented a proclamation for the holiday to show an appreciation for the organizations that put effort into protecting the environment.
“We do need to preserve our natural history, our natural resources. You know, our water especially is very vital. And that is something that the commission is committed to doing. Having these events like this just brings recognition to that. We all only have you know, we need to take care of our environment and we need to clean up after ourselves and all those kinds of good things. And today’s just a good day to promote it,” Bay County Commissioner Tommy Hamm said.
Bay County Audubon Society has been helping host the Earth Day festival for over 30 years.
Their main focus is habitat preservation for birds.
“We’re concerned about environmental issues as well as birds,” Bay County Audubon Society Board member Ron Houser said.
Board member Ron Houser wanted to come out to talk about how Earth Day came about and provide some useful tips on protecting native birds.
“A celebration of the progress we’ve made for environmental issues, especially like DDT poisoning for the almost wiped out the eagles and other birds pelicans and in the passage of the Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. So it’s a celebration of what we’ve already accomplished but it’s also focusing on what’s left that we should be doing and the environment,” Houser said.
Houser recommends planting native trees and shrubbery in your yard to offer more habitats for the more than 100 different species that live in Northwest Florida.
Also, during the Earth Day event, children got to participate in some activities and learn some fun facts about the nature surrounding them.
To learn more about the Bay County Audubon Society, click here.
