There are six great activities coordinated by the Edson & District Recycling Society (EDRS) for the community to celebrate Environment Week 2007. This year the focus is on the importance of wetlands to clean water for us all. For more information, contact the Edson & District Recycling Society, edsonrecycle@telus.net , 780-723-4002 or 780-723-1603

A one-hour theatre presentation by the Puffin Theatre group, open to all the community members but geared towards pre school children. The group will present an entertaining production that will include information on Wetlands and the Edson area. Sponsored by Alberta Environment, Weyerhaeuser and the Edson & District Recycling Society.

This interactive play teaches that wetlands are vital to clean, healthy water for us all. Open to community. Sponsored by Alberta Environment, Weyerhaeuser and the Edson & District Recycling Society.

All six primary schools in Edson are invited to participate. The goal is to increase the awareness of students, staff and parents on ways to reduce transportation impact on the environment by walking or bicycling to school . Every day of the two-week event, the listing of each school's ranking and participation percentage will be sent to these schools for comparison and results announced on the local radio station every day. The winning school will receive a pizza party for the entire school and the remaining schools will get ice cream. Everyone is a winner! Sponsored by EnCana.

Due to the success of the school competition, we wanted to extend the invitation to the business sector to get involved in this event. The Chamber of Commerce and its members, the Town of Edson and Yellowhead County have all been invited to participate. Advertisements in the newspaper will also invite all businesses to join in with the competition by registering with the Edson & District Recycling Depot at 723-4002. The goal for the two-week period is to have individuals walk, ride a bike or carpool to work. It's a win-win with better health for environment and individual. There may be surprise visits from the Edson and District Recycling Depot members to participating businesses with juice and muffins for all.

The depot will host Seniors' Day where local seniors are helped with their recycling and treated to a BBQ at 10:30-1:00, refreshments and goodies. Attendance is estimated at 100, with ten prize draws.

Tours will be available for the entire community and will consist of a visit to four interactive stations, which include observing animal movement, wetland identification and classification, and pond dipping. The goal of this event is to promote the importance of wetlands for clean and healthy water. There will be a free BBQ at 5:30 just before the tour. Register by calling the Edson & District Recycling Depot at 723-4002. Sponsored by Talisman Energy.

Pack a picnic and the car, bring binoculars and a camera and visit Elk Island National Park on your own terms. As you go enter the park through the south gate (off hwy 16) ask to borrow the Pond Discovery Kit. It contains pond dipping supplies, an identification chart, and locations in the park where you can explore to look for water creatures. This is a great discovery activity for the whole family. Celebrate the wetlands by learning about these diverse ecosystems. Park user fees would still apply but there would be no charge for the use of the supplies. Day use vehicle fee is $6.90.

For more information about the park, visit http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/elkisland/index_E.asp