The name has changed to “Crossroads Trail Run,” but Door County’s first and only trail run, scheduled for 8:00 am Saturday June 20, has stayed true to the Running Green purpose of “promoting wellness and healthy living, cross-generational recreation and increasing awareness of ‘green’ living in our community.”Ministry Door County Medical Center is our Presenting Sponsor because outdoor exercise promoted both physical and mental health. Running and walking are silent sports with minimal ecological footprints and participants of all ages on our 2K, 5K, and 10K routes will be touch with nature as they travel through coniferous forests, over wooden bridges, through meadows, through the Astronomy Campus and beyond. Trails includes single and double track, with wood chip, gravel, and dirt foundations. Each mile is marked. Our 10K route winds through Crossroads Ida Bay Preserve (which, by the way, is open to the public.)
Proceeds from the event will help us fund The Crossroads Ski for Free winter activities which we provide in collaboration with the Door County Silent Sports Coalition.
Though this year’s color is a closely guarded secret, we know that each participant will receive a GreenLayer Performance Shirt. The mission of the GreenLayer company is “to continually increase the environmentally responsible products in our collections” …and “to shift the thought process of consumers into understanding that environmentally conscious products do not mean a sacrifice in performance, style, and comfort.”
Post-events refreshments are locally grown or produced with 30 mile, paper goods are biodegradable, and food waste is composted.
Even the prizes and gifts are sustainable. All finishers receive a potted tree donated by Evergreen Nursery. Awards were made by local artists and businesses. Sturgeon Bay Utilities has donated litter bags, eco-bulbs, and safety flashers, and handsome reusable travel mugs.
Participants are encouraged to bring reusable water containers and we distributing reusable containers. Do we have something against bottled water? Yes. Obviously, there are situations in which bottled water is a necessity and even lifesaving, BUT when perfectly good tap water is available, bottled water is incredibly wasteful and a significant strain on the environment.
A quick visit to the Web provides an array of dismal statistics:
A site called Think Outside the Bottle states, ” Making the plastic bottles for bottled water for sale in the U.S. required the equivalent of 17 million barrels of oil last year and generated 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide.”
Taylor Hill of Takepart wrote: “The U.S. recycles just 12 percent of the 32 million tons of plastic waste it generates each year. We’re also consuming almost 10 billion gallons of water from bottles each year, but only one of every five of those bottles is recycled. That’s leading to a large percentage of plastics clogging landfills or washing away into the ocean.”
It goes on and on—different sites have slightly different stats, but all agree that we are paying astronomical amounts of money to purchase a product that harms our environment when the green alternative is free and probably healthier.
So participate in The Crossroads Trail Run, earn your travel mug and then use the delicious tap water here in Door County instead of bottled water from now on.
Perhaps you will bring your travel mug (and possibly even a Dad) to the Door County Historical Society’s Heritage Village at Big Creek on Father’s Day to enjoy a concert. The Peninsula Symphonic Band under the direction of Paula Eggert, will play on the Village Green and the volunteers from the Historical Society will hold an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social.
Summer programs are underway. At the Collins Learning Center, Monday-Thursday at 10:00, Family Programs are offered in the Entry Level of the Collins Learning Center. The Historical Society offers programs at 1:30 Tuesdays and Wednesday and Thursdays Blacksmiths will be working in their shop in the Village. Sunday afternoons, the Heritage Village holds a different program each week.
A special family program is scheduled for Wednesday at 1:30. SpectrumFest is a special event for learners of all ages. Stations featuring the spectrum will target both pre-school and school-aged children. This free event will be held in the Lower Level Learning Space of the Collins Learning Center.
Crossroads at Big Creek is a preserve welcoming learners of all ages to programs focused on science, history and the environment. The Collins Learning Center, located at 2041 Michigan in Sturgeon Bay, is open 1:30-3:30 daily and during scheduled events.
Wednesday, June 17
10:00 Family Program: Flower Power
Examine the habitat of the of the different flowers which grow at Crossroads in the summer and learn how they help feed the wildlife.
Free for all ages. Meet in the Entry Level of the Collins Learning Center.
1:30 SpectrumFest
Stations targeted at both pre-school and grade school-aged learners will help young people learn about the many aspects of the electromagnetic spectrum. Free and fun for all ages.
Thursday, June 18
10:00 Family Program: Fantastic Flyers
Get acquainted with migrating birds and butterflies and explore their breeding habitats. Free and open to the public. Meet in the Entry Level of the Collins Learning Center.
1:30 Blacksmiths at Work in the Village
Visit the Granary a watch blacksmiths make tools, housewares, and wroth iron products.
Friday, June 19
5:00-7:00 Crossroads Trail Run Registration and Packet Pick Up.
Saturday June 20
Crossroads Trail Run
7:00am On site registration and packet pick up takes place .
Sunday, June 21
2:00 Peninsula Symphonic Band Concert and Ice Cream Social in the Heritage Village
The Peninsula Symphonic Band under the direction of Paula Eggert, will play on the Village Green and the volunteers from the Historical Society will hold an Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social. Door County Historical Society’s Heritage Village at Big Creek.
Monday, June 22
10:00 Family Program : “Amazing Great Lakes Fish”
Enjoy our Great Lakes Exhibit as you learn about the habitats required of fish under the waves. Free for all ages. Meet in the Entry Level of the Collins Learning Center
Tuesday, June 23
10:00 Family Program: Mammals Like Us
Select a Door County animal from the Wildlife Exhibit in the Collins Learning Center. Then join the summer educator on a nature hike to search for your animal’s habitat. Free for all ages. Meet in the Entry Level of the Collins Learning Center.
1:30 Historical Program: Life on the Warren Farm and Schopf Log Cabin
Experience farm life with Grandma Warren and explore the Warren House where a family of eight lived. Meet at the Warren House in the Heritage Village
