Free trees, plant workshops coming to Arbor Day event

MAKING A PLACE FOR FEATHERED FRIENDS- City of Thousand Oaks building staff members help children build their own birdhouses with kits donated by Home Depot. The photo was taken at ast year's Earth Day. The 11th annual event will be from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sat., April 19 at Conejo Creek Park North, 1379 E. Janss Road, just west of the 23 Freeway, behind the T.O. Library.

The 11th annual Thousand Oaks Arbor/Earth Day will provide activities for families to learn about recycling and caring for the environment.

The event will be Sat., April 19 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Conejo Creek Park North, 1379 E. Janss Road, Thousand Oaks.

The program, presented by the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District, features more than 100 ecofriendly vendors and exhibitors and draws approximately 6,000 visitors.

Highlights include tree and plant giveaways, composting workshops, birdhouse building, papermaking, exhibits by park rangers, new technology vehicles, The Discovery Center, fire and police departments, and tree plantings by Scout troops.

At 11:30 a.m. local dignitaries, including City Council and Conejo Recreation and Park board members, will welcome the crowd and honor this year's Arbor Earth Day poster design winner, Hayley Woldseth, a student at California Lutheran University.

Children's activities include the Tidepool Cruiser where youths can see small marine life up close. They can make crafts out of recycled materials at the Pause4Kids Art-athon and can also make birdfeeders and meet wild animals at Jungleland U.

The entertainment lineup includes local band "The Coveralls" performing a variety of rock music selections from the 1960s to the present; Westlake High School's "A Class Act" and "Jazz Band"; "The Folk Collection" playing favorite folk songs; and the "Conejo Valley Drum Circle" with audience participation.

A program for children titled "Trashablanca," from the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley, will take place at 2 p.m. The show will uncover the mysteries of recycling using puppets and magic.

Admission is free and parking is free on the south side of Janss Road. Shuttle buses will run every 15 minutes.

For more information visit www.toaks.org or call Jana Covell, event chair, at (805) 4492660, ext. 258, or e-mail jcovell@mx.tol.lib.ca.us.