From a press release:
Chimney Rock State Park hosts Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 25
Local environmental educators will offer free activities, incentives and information
CHIMNEY ROCK, N.C. (April 15, 2015)— Chimney Rock State Park will host an Earth Day Celebration in Chimney Rock Village on Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Local environmental educators, including Chimney Rock State Park Rangers, Chimney Rock Management, LLC naturalists, biologists and other environmentalists will host a number of exhibits on the RiverWalk at 431 Main Street in Chimney Rock, near the Old Rock Café. Admission to the event is free, and youth ages 5-15 who collect six stamps through the event’s Discovery Trail program will earn a Grady’s Kids Club Membership, which allows them free admission to the Chimney Rock section of Chimney Rock State Park for one full year.
“Chimney Rock has a long history of caring for our environment,” said Stephen Tillotson, event organizer and Chimney Rock State Park Ranger. “The exhibitors at our Earth Day Celebration will offer a wealth of information that people of all ages can use to better protect and preserve the world around them. It’s going to be a great way for the whole family to get involved in celebrating our planet.”
Chimney Rock State Park’s annual Earth Day events have become a popular attraction, with attendance growing steadily in the last six years to approximately 600 visitors in 2014.
Park musician John Mason will play the hammered dulcimer. Presenters will include NC Wildlife Resources Commission, who will display “Rocky,” an Eastern hellbender; Chimney Rock Management, LLC, who will present Grady the Groundhog’s live animal ambassador friends and Falconers of Falling Creek Camp, who will have a live peregrine falcon and American kestrel. Friends of Chimney Rock State Park will be giving away tree seedlings. Other presenters will include KidSenses Museum, Friends of WNC Nature Center, NC Arboretum, NC Clean Air and local conservation partners The Nature Conservancy, Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, Weed Action Coalition of Hickory Nut Gorge and the Friends of Hickory Nut Gorge. Many event exhibitors have maintained an ongoing, active partnership in the Park’s resource conservation, including building positive support for state ownership of Chimney Rock in 2007.
About Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park
Chimney Rock at Chimney Rock State Park is a developing international outdoor destination located 25 miles southeast of Asheville on Highway 64/74A in Chimney Rock, N.C. It is recognized as one of the Southeast’s most iconic sites and popular travel destinations. The Park’s 535-million-year-old monolith called Chimney Rock can be accessed via a 491-step Outcroppings Trail or a 26-story elevator and offers guests 75-mile panoramic views of Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. The Park features one of the highest waterfalls of its kind east of the Mississippi River, Hickory Nut Falls, at 404 feet. Hickory Nut Gorge, one of the state’s most significant centers of biodiversity, is home to 36 rare plant species and 14 rare animal species. The Rumbling Bald section of the greater state park off of Boys Camp Road in Chimney Rock is the only other area of the park that is currently open to the public. A destination for travel groups, weddings and special events, the Chimney Rock section of the Park also hosts innovative educational programs for schools, homeschoolers, scouts and summer camps. Visit Chimney Rock’s website at chimneyrockpark.com.
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