SYRACUSE - Everyone says they love nature, but does nature love us back? And how would we know?  

This is the topic to be explored at one session of the upcoming Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation’s Earth Day Festival on April 30. WACF is organizing more than 20 educational, fun, hands-on programs and activities to be held outdoors at WACF Education Center south of Syracuse.  

The “Does Nature Love Us Back” program will be an interactive session at the Amphitheater from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., co-hosted by Cliff Kindy, Dani Tippman and John Edgerton who have spent their lifetimes working with plants, animals, water and soil. They come together for the first time to offer a shared vision of their life’s work, woven from three independent strands into a unified message of hope, harmony and humility.  

Sessions include:

* 10 to 10:50 a.m., Remembrance. Water is Life; Human/Plant diversity makes us stronger. Facilitated by Dani Tippman.

* 11 to 11:50 a.m., Dialogue. How can we accept the coming difficulties of our distressed planet, so that we and our children can meet them with courage, empathy and resilience? Facilitated by Cliff Kindy.

* 12:45 to 1:35 p.m., Earth Stories. Sharing stories about how we each are needed in the web of life, and how harmony and mutual understanding are vital to our survival. These ancient stories are now beginning to be validated by modern science. Facilitated by John Edgerton.

This event is sponsored by Chautauqua-Wawasee. See their website for details or updates at www.chautauquawawasee.org;  facebook/chautauquawawasee or call 574-377-7543. In the event of cold or rainy weather, this event will move to the Syracuse Community Center.