POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – After a two year hiatus, the Portneuf Valley Environmental Fair was back in action.
More than 75 local businesses, agencies, and organizations provided hands-on activities, eco-friendly giveaways, and even showed off some of our beautiful animal friends.
“The thought behind it was to bring together different organizations in the city that are working on helping to improve our local environments and helping to keep our earth clean,” said event organizer Rachel Daniels.
Despite having to move the event indoors, the Environmental Fair was jam-packed.
“We usually have a few thousand people that come out, and it looked like the community really showed up, which is awesome,” Daniels said.
Local farmer Matthew Bowman was educating the crowd on what compost is and how it can be used in our gardens and on our lawns.
“It basically shows the cycle of pulling dead material out of the garden, composting it, making soil and growing new plants to put back into the garden,” Bowman said. “So, it shows that cycle of life.”
Bowman says owning an organic farm has taught him the value of protecting planet earth.
“You have to pay so much attention to what’s going on in the environment in your own garden,” Bowman said. “When I can plant, when I can harvest, so on and so forth. By having that relationship with a garden, you have a better relationship with the whole world.”
The Environmental Fair also provided exposure for many of our local nonprofits.
“Our group really relies on group participation,” said Idaho Master Naturalists member Madison Renn. “So, in order for us to keep the program going, we need to have a really solid group of people that care about the environment.”
For Renn, having that care for the environment is a must.
“Taking care of the environment is something that we need to really put our future prospects on for the next generation and even my generation to come,” Renn said. “Learning about this type of stuff with a really diverse group of people has been super important to me.”
