The Watershed Institute has organized an inaugural World Water Day Festival on March 23.
The festival is set to take place at the Watershed Center on 31 Titus Mill Road in Pennington. Admission to the event is $5 per person.
The festival is an event filled with exhibits, demonstrations, games and tours designed to show community members and their families how they can help preserve water quality and the natural environment in their neighborhood.
“This is a perfect opportunity for us to harness the energy that we know is out there among our members and many residents of this area, who are really concerned about global environmental issues,” Executive Director Jim Waltman said. “With this festival we want to provide some very tangible close to home examples on how people can help protect water and the natural environment.”
The World Water Day Festival will include a hike to Stony Brook, water-themed games inside and outside the Watershed Center, and demonstrations with hands-on activities on how human activities impact the water and environment.
“At the end of the day we realized for us to be successful we really cannot do it alone. We need to make sure that the people in this area understand what we are trying to accomplish and can join in that,” Waltman said.
According to the Watershed Institute, the organization’s mission is to keeping water clean, safe and health. The organization works to protect and restore the water and natural environment in central New Jersey.
Waltman said the Institute’s goal for the festival is to make people understand the natural world around them, what is threatened and how people can be a part of the effort to protect the natural environment.
The range of games and activities during the festival are set to engage not only children but adults.
“What we try to do with programs like this is be highly educational and communicate with people of all ages. We try to make sure there is a lot of hands-on fun,” he said. “The folks that come to this festival will learn some science, what our scientists do, get to meet some of the creatures that reside in local streams, and I have been told we will also have a mermaid.”
The planning for this festival began at the end of this past year. The event is an extension of the World Water Day Initiative that was organized by the United Nations on March 22. The day highlights the importance of freshwater.
The Watershed Institute is tailoring the UN initiative by raising the regions Water IQ with the festival on March 23.
“I am thrilled about this festival. I think this is going to be a really fun and engaging three ring circus water educational event,” Waltman said. “We hope a lot of people come out and there will truly be something for everybody.”
The festival is set to take place at the Watershed Center on 31 Titus Mill Road in Pennington. Admission to the event is $5 per person.
For more information on the World Water Day Festival, contact the Watershed Institute at www.thewatershed.org or 609-737-3735.
