Right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit more than two years ago, Terri Baugh, a member of Mission’s sustainability commission, pitched the idea of cities in northeast Johnson County coming together to host an environmental fair.
Dubbed Go Green, it was put on the back burner — until now.
Driving the news: This Saturday, the cities of Fairway, Merriam, Mission, Mission Hills, Mission Woods, Prairie Village, Roeland Park, Westwood and Westwood Hills will combine to host the inaugural Go Green fair.
- The event’s steering committee plans to discuss the possibility of turning Go Green 2022 into an annual event following this year’s fair, Baugh said.
Details: Organizers say the upcoming Go Green 2022 event will be all about education, aiming to help residents understand how they can do their part to help the environment.
- The three-hour event kicks off Saturday, Sept. 17, at 9 a.m. at Sylvester Powell Jr. Community Center in Mission.
- Baugh said there is something for all ages at Go Green 2022.
Key quote: “It’s just so important for people to understand what is available in the way of green options in terms of their daily living,” Baugh said. “You hear about climate change, but how do you bring that down to the everyday person, who has a family and who really doesn’t know what’s available to them? Our number one goal for our sustainability commission is to be part of the reduction of the carbon footprint for, certainly, our city.”
What to expect: Organizers say there will be live music courtesy of the Green Spirit Band, along with activities for kids and educational exhibits at Go Green 2022.
- There will be about 45 different booths hosted by a variety of local organizations like BikeWalkKC and the JoCo K-State Extension Master Gardeners, who will be on hand to educate attendees about the “environmental impact of their consumer actions and choices, and how making small changes can reduce household expenses.”
- For instance, Baugh said Contain the Rain Johnson County will have a booth at the fair to help folks understand how to install rain barrels and gardens at their homes.
- Another example is Scraps KC, which will be educating attendees about how to use the organization’s creative reusing services.
- More information about Go Green 2022 can be found online here.
Family activities at Go Green 2022
There will also be several kid-friendly activities at the Go Green 2022 environmental fair, including:
- Face painting
- A milkweed ball making station, to help support migrating Monarch butterflies and local pollinators with Kansas wildflower plantings in egg cartons
- An imagination station to challenge kids to think about how household items can be reused.
- An e-bike station so kids can see an e-bike and talk to an educator about it.
- A guessing game for kids to determine how many lids are in a jar, and the best guess receives a gardening tool set.
