Earth of a Nation : Global Health Gets a Wellness Checkup in Weekend Activities

“Reduce, reuse, recycle! Reduce, reuse, recycle!”

Is this your conscience talking? Maybe. But these days, chances are just as good that the voice behind that helpful (and sometimes annoying) message is that of a child.

Because kids’ daily lives are rife with pro-environmental messages, from school assemblies to pop tunes to Saturday morning cartoons, it’s only natural they should carry the message home.

Organizers of this weekend’s Earth Day events (Earth Day is Monday) have hooked onto that in a big way. Launched in 1970, Earth Day has become increasingly child-friendly, focusing on interactive exhibits, games and entertainment designed to make us more sensitive to Mother Earth’s needs.

Here’s a look at some of what’s going on around the county.

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Ruggedly beautiful Trabuco Canyon is the setting for O’Neill Regional Park’s Earth Day celebration, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 3,000-acre park, sprinkled with such colorful wildflowers as lavender-hued prickly phlox and crimson Indian paintbrush, is the backdrop for natural history displays, conservation exhibits, storytelling and guided hikes. Admission is free; there’s a $4 entry fee per vehicle. (714) 858-9365.

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Recycle Rex (the official spokes-dinosaur from the state Department of Education) can’t make it this year, but youngsters visiting the Environmental Faire in Anaheim Hills may be too busy to miss him.

Themed “Sunshine Celebration,” the annual event at Peralta Canyon Park (115 N. Pinney Drive) features booths and exhibits spread over five grassy acres and runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Activities include an Earth ball play area where visitors can romp, jump, roll and otherwise commune with giant soft globes up to 6 feet in diameter. They can also make pins using recycled materials, transplant flowers and take in displays, demonstrations and live music. In the can castle area, kids will use empties to build towers.

At nearby Anaheim Hills Golf Course, there’s the Share the Air 5K Walk benefiting the American Lung Assn. of Orange County and Oak Canyon Nature Center ($20 registration fee); check-in starts at 9 a.m.; the walk starts at 9:30 a.m., and there’s free shuttle service from the park to the walk start.

Fair admission and parking are free; the event is hosted by Anaheim’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services. Bring three empty drink containers to receive a free soda. (714) 998-8380.

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You can pick up some tasty recipes for Lick-It Cricket Lollipops and other treats at the free family fair at the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve & Regional Park (600 Shellmaker Road, Newport Beach) to be held Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Local entomologists will exhibit and talk about hundreds of insects. Bold folk interested in nibbling on, instead of being nibbled by, bugs can pick up some of the above mentioned recipes.

Other highlights include a marine touch tank and exhibits and demonstrations featuring rehabilitating hawks, owls and other creatures from the Orange County Birds of Prey center. Mud stations invite visitors to investigate the components of mud and meet some of the critters who live in and on Back Bay’s nutrient-rich muck. There will also be Native American storytelling and naturalist-led tours of the estuary, both on foot and afloat. Canoes and kayaks can be reserved.

At 9 a.m., March for Parks, a four-mile walk to raise awareness of the nation’s parks and open spaces, will begin at the corner of Bayview Way and Jamboree Road. (714) 640-6746.

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A climate-controlled shopping center seems an unlikely place to bond with Earth, but that hasn’t stopped field-tripping schoolkids from doing so at the Westminster Mall.

Running through April 30, the mall’s Project Earth exhibit features four themed areas--desert, ocean, forest and wildlife--where children can literally come to grips with the natural world. In the wildlife area, they can schmooze with a monitor lizard, spider monkeys, a boa constrictor and an albino python. Project Earth also includes a man-made tide pool and the California Forest Products Commission’s walk-through forest exhibit.

The exhibit is open during mall hours (10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday). On Saturday and Sunday through April 28, there are stage shows featuring birds and animals from rain forest and desert habitats. (714) 898-2558.

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Although they’re not hosting designated Earth Day activities, there are several nature centers around the county worth a stroll this weekend. The pocket-sized Environmental Nature Center (1601 16th St., Newport Beach), a 2.5-acre learning facility, offers 12 different natural environments re-created for use in its school programs and workshops. They’re open Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (714) 645-8489.

The Turtle Rock Nature Center (1 Sunnyhill, Irvine), which includes five acres and an interpretive center in a former horse stable on the original Irvine Ranch, frequently hosts environmental education classes and special events for families. On Saturday, there’s a drop-in nature craft workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. (714) 854-8151.

There’s also the 26-acre Fullerton Arboretum botanical garden (1900 Associated Road), which is gearing up for its annual Green Scene garden show April 27 and 28. (714) 773-3579.