Pine Knoll Shores aquarium to celebrate Earth Day

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores is celebrating Earth Day April 22-29 with a Party for the Planet.

Presentations, up-close animal encounters and nature-based activities will focus on the year’s theme, Spring into Action.

“Celebrating Party for the Planet is important because it’s an opportunity to show our appreciation for wildlife by learning about conservation issues, and also participating in those efforts,” Aquarium Educator Sarah Wright said in a statement.

Throughout the aquarium there will be education stations that highlight issues that relate to coastal communities, each with a suggested conservation action visitors can choose to put into practice at home. Topics will include native plants and pollinator gardens, North Carolina sustainable seafood, recycling and citizen science projects including City Nature Challenge, FrogWatch USA, North Carolina King Tides Project and Spot A Shark USA.

“Our goal for Party for the Planet this year is to introduce different ways Aquarium visitors and community members can contribute to local and global conservation. Whether a person chooses to plant a pollinator garden, participate in a beach cleanup, or start recycling at home, every little bit can have a positive impact,” Wright said.

In addition to the on-site events, the aquarium will host three off-site events in May and June where anyone can contribute to the preservation and protection of our local ecosystems, Wright said. There will be a community recycling workshop May 7, Suds for Sharks fundraiser for shark species May 20 and habitat restoration projects June 4.

For more than 20 years, Association of Zoos and Aquariums accredited zoos and aquariums nationwide have hosted Party for the Planet events making it North America’s largest combined Earth Day, Endangered Species Day and World Ocean Day celebration, according to the aquarium.

It’s the association’s fourth year of the “Spring into Action” campaign with support from the Disney Conservation Fund. The campaign goal is to provide family-friendly, conservation-based events and volunteer opportunities that improve the health of our planet’s habitats and ecosystems.

For more information on the Aquarium’s on-site Party for the Planet events April 22-29 visit the website https://bit.ly/NCAPKS-SpecialEvents.