Back To Nature

This is just the best time of the year to be on 30A. This weekend, October 17-19 is the South Walton Community Council’s Back to Nature Festival. The festival showcases activities that celebrate the natural beauty of South Walton County. It starts Friday night at Bud 'n Alleys in Seaside. Then Saturday SWELL hosts a Family Fun Day event from 10 am – 4 pm at the Seaside Lyceum all about conservation, gardening, and education about the area and what local individuals and organizations are doing to protect our natural communities: E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center/Nokuse Plantation, the Audubon Society, the Seaside Neighborhood School’s edible Corner Garden, the local Montessori Academy, the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance, IFAS-Sea Grant Marine Science, Friends of St. Andrews Bay, and the Master Gardeners for starters. Several local businesses will be there with good food and children's activities. I will be there set-up to tear-down with my "SWELL" friends. I will have a bird, bat and butterfly house along with some plants to attract them. Bruce the EcoBroker will be there if anyone wants to know about environmentally sensitive homes in the area; my daughter and her friends will be there braiding hemp rope and beads into jewelry. My very creative, SWELL friend Susan Horn from Artisan builders will have children's activities and the always amazing organizer of this event, Chandra Hartman will have info on Permaculture gardening and architecture. And best of all (to me), I'll see some displays on composting and rain barrels. Wow. And then Sunday, the democrats host "the big blue bash" at the Seaside amphitheatre with a full day of live music complete with my favorite local bands. I'm exhausted already.