DEQ News Release

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July 31, 2017

ADEQ Supports Local Sustainable Music Festival

NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) is partnering with Homegrown on the River to promote sustainable practices during the 2017 Homegrown on the River Music Festival, held August 3rd through 5th at Byrd’s Outdoor Adventure Center on the Mulberry River in Ozark, Arkansas. Homegrown on the River is Arkansas’s first outdoor festival to focus on sustainability and zero waste.

ADEQ is the presenting sponsor of the event and will promote sustainability by educating guests about daily activities that can help protect Arkansas’s land and water and encouraging them to participate in cleanup, recycling, and upcycling activities.

In addition to manning an educational booth on upcycling, erosion, and sustainability issues, ADEQ will provide presentations and activities during the event. Friday, August 4th, at 11:00 a.m., ADEQ will present ‘Upcycle On-the-Spot’ to demonstrate various ways of repurposing common household items, such as old t-shirts, plastic bottles, and other “waste,” and give guests the chance to create their own upcycled item. On Saturday, August 5th, at 11:00 a.m., the department will present ‘Fight Erosion’, a demonstration showing how differing water flow and landscape features can affect erosion and stream health.

ADEQ also partners with GreenSource Recycling for River Stewards, a youth litter, recycling, and upcycling program open to guests ages twelve and younger. To participate, children should bring a parent or guardian to one of the River Stewards classes being held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday and noon on Friday and Saturday at the ADEQ tent. All youth participants will receive a River Stewards badge and can compete for prize packages by bringing specified items to the River Stewards booth to exchange for tokens.

ADEQ supports the innovative and proactive efforts of Homegrown to promote sustainable practices and move toward zero waste at the festival. The Homegrown on the River Festival uses solar stations to provide for the event’s power needs, including the onstage sound and lights. The event also focuses on food waste and recycling, both of which can have major effects on the environment. Last year, 327 pounds of food waste was donated to a local pig farmer, and 1.5 tons of material was recycled.

For more information on the event, including schedules visit: http://homegrownontheriver.com/

CONTACT: Kelly Robinson (Robinson@adeq.state.ar.us or 501.682.0916)

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