MUNISING — Munising School Public Library will celebrate Earth Fest with a week full of activities began Monday and ends on Earth Day, which is Saturday.

This is the first Earth Fest that Munising will be hosting. Earth Fest director Joan Potter-Sommer said the idea came from when she lived in Oxford, Ohio, and put together an Earth Fest.

“Climate change is here and a lot of times people don’t even talk about it, and if you look at the stats, they don’t talk about it,” Potter-Sommer said. “If you look at the people who are trying to promote (climate change), the most important thing is to talk about the changes and trying to figure out ways to be sustainable, and to be assured that things will be OK.”

Potter-Sommer said one of the events during Earth Fest will be a presentation on what the Upper Peninsula will look like in the future as it adapts to the changing climate.

“We’re already seeing some changes now with the intensity of the storms and the winter doesn’t last quite as long,” Potter-Sommer said. “It’s still cold, yes, but things are changing and weather is changing.”

Another event will be a presentation on electric and hybrid vehicles.

“I think a lot of it is people fear change and so the more you can educate and show them (the electric and hybrid vehicles),” Potter-Sommer said. “We’ll put the hood up on the electric vehicles so they can see what the battery looks like and understand that there’s no motor there, it’s a battery.”

Earth Fest 2023’s full schedule is:

≤ Monday: MSPL Earth Day storytime from 10:30 to 11 a.m. and Earth-focused displays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for preschool-aged children and their caregivers. Participants will hear stories, sing songs and make simple crafts about Earth Day.

≤ Today: Speakers from Upper Peninsula Power and Light Company, Superior Watershed Partnership and Michigan Energy Options will have an interactive conversation from 5:30 to 7 p.m. about where renewable energy, heat pumps and funding come together.

≤ Wednesday: Michigan Tech University’s Jeremy Worm will host an electric vehicle show and presentation from 5 to 7 p.m. with light refreshments served and electric vehicles and bicycles on display.

≤ Thursday: Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center’s James DeDecker will hold a presentation form 5 to 7 p.m. on adapting to the changing climate in the Upper Peninsula, with light refreshments served.

≤ Friday: Earth-focused displays, native plants, conservation, carbon footprints, composting, recycling and student posters will be open to view in the library from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

≤ Saturday: Library displays, meet and greet and demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. with freebies and door prizes. Some activities include identifying native plants, Earth-focused videos, displays on conservation and one-on-one with experts covering topics like local food, electric cars and building compost bins.

For more information, contact MSPL at mspl@msplonline.org.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 248. Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.