July 20, 2009
Vol. 39, No. 310

For more information contact Joanna Wilson or Beth Shockley, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

DNREC encourages fairgoers: “Color Your Footprint Green”

Wonder what you can do to reduce your environmental footprint?  DNREC’s education building at this year’s Delaware State Fair in Harrington will be trimmed in green as DNREC showcases the message, “Color Your Footprint Green.” Dozens of exhibits, booths and displays highlight recycling and other environmentally-friendly practices, programs and tips designed to help Delawareans reduce their carbon footprints.

DNREC’s building, located on East Rider Road on the Fairgrounds, is open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. every day of the fair from July 23 – Aug. 1.

The Green Resolutions display provides practical tips for how to reduce your environmental footprint while at home, work, school or on the road.  DNREC’s Air Quality Management section also encourages fairgoers to take the “Color Your Footprint GREEN” challenge and pledge to reduce their carbon footprints by hanging their pledge cards on the FOOTPRINT Tree found in the center aisle.

Posters highlighting the “Color Your Footprint Green” message, created by Delaware schoolchildren, are featured in a playful center aisle display. Surrounding that are exhibits, displays, games, and information from each of DNREC’s six divisions.

New to the fair this year, find out how much energy you can produce by pedaling a bicycle in a display from the Delaware Energy Office. The “Pedal Power” display demonstrates how energy is used and produced through an electric generator operated by bicycle pedal power.  An everyday appliance can be plugged in to show how much energy it uses while you try to produce an equal amount of energy on the bike. 

The Delaware Energy Office will also have materials and staff on hand to answer questions on energy issues, offer tips on how to make homes more energy efficient, and provide information about renewable energy systems, current grant subsides for energy upgrades and how the new Sustainable Energy Utility will impact future energy use.  

Find out what happens to the bottles and cans you recycle at the Division of Air and Waste Management’s recycling display. The exhibit shows what happens from the point you put a bottle or can in the recycling bin to where it ends up. 

Speaking of recycling, you can also recycle your aluminum cans and plastic bottles and utilize DNREC’s single-stream recycling bins. Again this year, vendors can deposit cardboard for recycling at several locations as well as stack cardboard outside their booths after midnight for collection.

The ever-popular Division of Fish and Wildlife’s wild animal display will be back again this year, featuring fish, snakes, raccoons, squirrels and more. Kids in grades K-12 can learn about water, wetlands and wildlife through hands-on activities from Project WET and Project WILD, sponsored by the Division’s DuPont Nature Center.  And join the Nemours Healthy Kids Scavenger Hunt on July 28, where kids can learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.

The Division of Parks and Recreation – always a favorite destination – has lots of exciting displays, including a real tent with trees and a real kayak and live grass to guide you on a north-to-south tour of attractions in Delaware’s state parks. A new interactive database will help trail enthusiasts and trail users to find trails for hiking, biking, and canoeing, and trail maps will be available.

DNREC will also host special single-day displays and events on its main porch featuring the Brandywine Zoo, Indian River Life-Saving Station, Fort Delaware State Park,

Killens Pond, Bellvue and Brandywine Creek State Parks, Delaware Seashore State Park, and Alapocas Run State Park. You can also learn about DNREC’s Emergency Response Team when team members are on hand July 30 with some of their equipment.

Stop by DNREC’s Division of Water Resources exhibit and measure your water footprint. A series of touch screen games for all ages will be on hand to test your understanding of Delaware’s water usage.

New displays at the Division of Soil and Water area feature wetland and channel restoration projects, as well as an exhibit from the Delaware Conservation Partnership that highlights the secrets of soils in our everyday lives. So stop by the display and make a soil profile of Greenwich loam - Delaware’s state soil. The Nonpoint Source Pollution Program offers an interactive computer game that challenges you with questions about pollution sources in wetlands, urban areas, agriculture, beaches and forests.

Also on hand, check out the latest issues of DNREC’s award-winning conservation magazine, Outdoor Delaware, and get information about the 2009 Delaware Coastal Cleanup held in September, part of the world’s largest annual clearing of trash from coastlines and lakes by volunteers.

On Governor’s Day, July 30, the annual DNREC Awards will be held on the porch, with special guest presenter Governor Jack Markell. Awards to be presented this year include the Young Environmentalists of the Year, the winners of the Annual Youth Fishing Tournament and the Wetland Warrior Award.