By GARTH SNOW

For the Northwest News

Earth Day Fort Wayne brought more than 1,000 visitors to a chilly Eagle Marsh on April 23, as Little River Wetlands Project celebrated the local environment and conservation work.

Busy Engle Road was closed for the 4-hour festival, making way for two rows of parking in the center of the road that cuts through the north edge of LRWP’s largest property. A trolley ferried visitors from the cars that stretched almost a half-mile east of the main entrance.

Below that berm, booths lined the pedestrian path down the gravel road stretching a half-mile south to the hub of activities around the barn.

“We think it went well and we were very thankful that people decided to brave the weather and come out,” LRWP staff member Chelsea Hile said. There’s always an activity for all weather and all seasons, said Hile, LRWP’s director of development and engagement.

Food trucks from Mo’s Tacos, Smokehaus, Whip & Chill and Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee were on hand with treats. LRWP gave out information and native trees seedlings and native plant seeds. Other conservation organizations also greeted the public, sharing the dates of their own events and encouraging awareness of clean rivers, native plants, water trails and more.

A popular first stop for many was the tent of Riverview Native Nursery, a regular at Earth Day. Shoppers could order their plants in advance, and had the option of asking Riverview to hold the plants at the roadside tent while the visitors continued through the booths. “It is a little early for our plants, but we will bring what we can, including trees and shrubs,” the nursery said on its website. Riverview, on DeKalb County Road 72 in Spencerville, will be better prepared to greet spring in time for the Rural Artists Studio Tour, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 6. Find more information at www.riverviewnativenursery.com.

Pardee and Toshiko Gunter picked up their share of native plants. Toshiko shopped on behalf of Gardens of Central Park, a perennials garden on East Fort Wayne Street in Warsaw.

Friends of the Rivers welcomed visitors to their booth promoting Clean Drains Fest, which will welcome music, entertainment, food trucks and the Dumpster Drummers to Promenade Park from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 23.

Dave Graney and Winnie Zeliger said the group offers many educational programs, endeavoring to reach children as early as possible with the message of protecting the rivers by protecting the drains. Zeliger introduced children to the Friendly the Otter mascot. Graney said the Dumpster Drummers — already appearing on youtube — are “coming to an elementary school near you.” Learn more about the program at forfw.org.

Landscape artist David F. Broerman represented the Northern Indiana Plein Air Artist Association. His easel offered a view of grasses and shrubs separating the Engle Road parking lot from the barn and woods in the distance. Visitors admired the brushwork that transferred a miniature of that vista to the canvas. Broerman said his fourth such visit to Earth Day promoted his organization’s visits and public events in the months ahead. On April 29, the group will present the Spring Paint Out from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at Marsh Lake State Fish & Wildlife Are at Fremont. Broerman said he will participate in an introductory plein air paining class at Wawasee on five dates in July. Learn more at Northern Indiana Plein Air Artists on Facebook.

Carrie Lamb made the case for Northeast Indiana Water Trails. “We have over 500 miles of canoe or kayak waterways in northern Indiana, and our goal is to facilitate people playing in those waterways in a safe manner,” she said. The group is raising money to put up more signage so people can better enjoy those waterways. To that end, her group plans Pedal, Paddle, Play from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. June 24 at Promenade Park in Fort Wayne. Find details at neiwatertrails.com.

Of course LRWP itself greeted the public and promoted conservation. Volunteers Kay Hageman and Phil Bloom handed out brochures and signed up visitors for the newsletter. Rhonda Thomas handed out packets of milkweed seeds and other native plants key to the environment. She also gave out red oak saplings, courtesy of General Motors.

Hile, of LRWP, said more than 90 volunteers helped to present Earth Day. They donated over 300 hours of combined time. Most worked in shifts to take care of the festival and behind-the-scenes work before and after. Just the previous weekend, 41 volunteers picked up more than 800 pounds of trash to make Engle Road presentable for Earth Day.

Volunteers are essential to LRWP’s continuing mission, she said. Opportunities include office work, program help, trail stewards, trash pickup, field trips and more. “There is so much they can do,” Hile said.

To learn more about volunteering and the May 18 volunteer orientation, visit www.lrwp.org.

Expect LRWP to offer community activities each month, in addition to a regular schedule of walks and outings. Perhaps the best known in Monarch Fest, scheduled this year for Sept. 10.

First, though, LRWP plans Frogapalooza, a ticketed fundraiser, on Aug. 22 at Sweetwater Sound. Watch for details at www.lrwp.org/events.

LRWP has hosted Earth Day Fort Wayne at Eagle Marsh since 2011. The nonprofit land trust restores and protects wetlands in the watershed of the Little River, a tributary of the Wabash River. The organization manages several preserves in Allen and Huntington counties, including Eagle Marsh, the largest inland urban wetland restoration in the U.S.