Earth Day on May Day?

If you have ever spent much time in Columbia, Missouri in the spring, you know that Earth Day is a big deal in this town. I was new to the city this year, and even I couldn't believe the magnitude of this event until I experienced it!

Apparently another Columbia tradition is the reason we are still talking about Earth Day in May...and that is spring rain. When Earth Day Round One was canceled due to downpours and flooding, we had one more shot: Sunday, May 2.

Though the morning dawned a bit cloudy and chilly, the chance of rain soon diminished and the sun even began to peak through the clouds. This was perfect for the MRCN AmeriCorps members, as we had a long day ahead.

We started at Gans Creek to rustle up some critters. Unfortunately, because of the rains during the week, it took us FIVE net sets to catch anything work talking about. But our last one was loaded with crayfish, mayflies, stoneflies, scuds and sowbugs! We transferred the little guys to a water cooler and brought them with us to Peace Park on the University of Missouri campus.

Even though we arrived over an hour before the festival was scheduled to begin, we were the latecomers as most of the over 200 booths were already set up. We staked a claim in "Kid's Park" where all of the fun stuff was. From the time the festival began at noon to the closing of Kid's Park at five, we introduced hundreds of kids (and a few parents) to the fascinating world that lives in our creeks and streams.

We explained that this diverse, healthy array of critters did NOT come from Flat Branch, the urban stream that flowed behind us, but rather from a healthy stream on the outskirts of town. Hopefully our message got through to them, but if not they certainly appreciated the free pencils, coloring books and bug magnifiers!