Over 5000 elementary age children, parents and teachers braved the rainy weather for 2010 Celebrate Earth Day Kansas! at the Sedgwick County Zoo. This free environmental fair gives everyone the opportunity to learn how to protect and care for the world we live in. Local businesses, organizations and agencies provide hands-on activities and interactive exhibits; resulting in many environmental learning opportunities for children.

Tougher federal air pollution standards coming soon

The Wichita area could face greater health risks and may have to pay for costly air-quality improvement programs if new federal air pollution standards aren’t met, City of Wichita officials announced on Wednesday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Hugo Wall School to serve as the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) for EPA Region 7, which includes Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. The Environmental Finance Center’s mission is to assist state and local governments to create environmentally and financially sustainable solutions to answer the “how to pay questions” associated with EPA mandates. The school competed for this designation as part of a national grant award process and represents the only newly created EFC in the nation. Awards are for six years with up to $2.4 million in funding available. For fiscal year 2010, the school anticipates $190,000 in funding.