Cute critters compete with worms transforming kitchen scraps into “black gold” in the City Streets, Country Roads exhibit. The exhibit is designed to educate people about traditional and non-traditional agriculture as well as provide animal exhibits, live demonstrations, and one on one conversations.   It is all a part of the fun at the Frederick County Fair!  If you missed joining us in 2005, plan to stop by the Monocacy & Catoctin Watershed Alliance booth at the Great Frederick Fair in 2006!  We’ll be in the City Streets, Country Roads building.

For a second year, the Monocacy & Catoctin Watershed Alliance partnered with Catch the Rain, Community Commons, ThorpeWood, and Frederick County Government to sponsor a booth at the Great Frederick Fair in September 2005.

Volunteers manning the “Building a Greener Lifestyle” booth were able to provide visitors with information on composting, rain barrels, natural household cleaners, native plants, natural lawn care as well as information on how to get involved with local watershed restoration efforts.

Bonnie Duggan, owner of Catch the Rain, has hosted a booth at the fair for several years demonstrating the multiple benefits of catching rainwater.  In 2004 Bonnie asked the Lower Monocacy WRAS Steering Committee partners if they would be interested in cosponsoring a booth to expand the information on healthier citizen practices for fairgoers.  In 2005, the Alliance joined as cosponsor.  As participants expanded, plans for the booth evolved.  After a couple of organizational meetings, the group decided to offer Alliance members two types of roles.  Sponsors were involved with booth planning and coordination, arranged for volunteers to sign up for shifts, and organized free giveaways.  Other members served as partners and provided volunteers to man the booth.

Volunteers wore free Greener Lifestyle/Watershed Alliance t-shirts and reported having a great experience at the fair, enjoying offering lots of different kinds of information because of broad partner participation. Children visiting received giveaways such as stickers, expanding tear-drop shaped sponges, and temporary tattoos.

Partners are already discussing ideas for improvements of next year’s booth including a whole-house diorama where each booth partner group has responsibility for a different partof the house. 

The booth could show how to use vermiculture composting in the kitchen, make natural household cleaners for the bathroom and harvest rainwater from the rooftop by connecting the gutters to a rain barrel or rain garden.

Another Alliance partner, Catoctin Mountain Park, plans to develop additional exhibit materials in honor of its 70th anniversary in 2006.

Plan to join us this September!!