About the NWA Green Expo

The NWA Green Expo is a free event taking place at the John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers, AR the weekend of April 30-May 1, 2010. The event provides information and products to help Northwest Arkansas improve the environmental and social impacts of their day-to-day living. The NWA Green Expo features more than 90 exhibitors of products, services, and information, along with workshops on a variety of sustainability and green living topics.

Friday, April 30, will be jam packed with national speakers challenging and educating you on important sustainable topics.

Demonstrations will be provided of renewable energy, including solar and wind. Hands-on workshops will be offered along with a great display of eco-friendly vehicles.

Saturday, May 1, will be focused on the community and family. Workshops, seminars, and special entertainment for the whole family will be available.

About Northwest Arkansas


Welcome to Northwest Arkansas. No longer one of the country’s best-kept secrets, the region has become known for its booming businesses and fast-growing economy. Home to Fortune 500 companies and several retail, food and transportation tycoons, Northwest Arkansas has seen an abundance of new developments and redevelopment projects in historic downtowns.

Residents of the Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, including Fayetteville, Springdale, Siloam Springs, Rogers and Bentonville, enjoy a low cost of living and an increasing job growth rate making it an attractive place to live.

While the region is growing and changing, Northwest Arkansas is still rooted in its scenic surroundings including majestic bluffs, shimmering lakes and rivers and rolling hills. 



 

Expo Categories

Food & Beverage
You are what you eat! Well, let’s hope not. But it is important to make sure the foods we eat are good for us. Whether that means a juicy steak, free-range chicken or no meat at all, you’ll find ideas, recipes and samples at the NWA Green Expo.

Health & Wellness
Being green isn’t just about the health of the environment, it’s also about the health of you and your family. With the rising cost of healthcare and prescription drugs there’s never been a better time to focus on living a healthier lifestyle. Eating natural and organic foods or just eating healthier, coupled with exercise is the best way to start. Preventive care also plays a very important role in reducing long-term healthcare costs. In the Health & Wellness area of the NWA Green Expo you’ll learn how to take better care of yourself and hopefully have fun doing it.

Fashion & Beauty
View the latest eco-friendly clothing and accessories made from organic, natural, and recycled materials. Touch and feel clothing made from materials you’ve only read about in magazines, seen on TV or the internet.

Recycling/Conservation
Recycling has been the vanguard movement of conservation and is usually the first step families take toward involvement. The NWA Green Expo will educate the public on the many, many ways to reduce, reuse, recycle with the ultimate goal to make household recycling so easy that it becomes second nature in every home. There are many shades of green and each family doesn’t have to think in terms of saving the planet – only think about using less and wasting less in their home.

Household Products & Practices
Let the NWA Green Expo teach you to make a difference where it’s most important - your home. From the air inside your home and the cleaning products you use, to making sure your water is safe to drink, you’ll find it all at the Expo.

Green Building
Whether you want to build a new home using the latest “green” technology or remodel your current home to be healthy or energy efficient you’ll see it all in this section of the NWA Green Expo. Learn ways to incorporate energy or water saving products in new home construction and ideas for remodeling and refitting older homes with products that will reduce the cost of heating and cooling. Eco-friendly products will mean less replacement and upkeep. Talk to experts, compare products and ask questions.

Transportation
Ever since personal transportation graduated from the horse and buggy, consumers have been confronted with myriad choices, and never more so than today. The technology is changing so fast it’s hard to keep up. The NWA Green Expo will showcase and investigate the many ways you and your family can move from point A to point B and still be earth-friendly. See the newest vehicles up close; find out how they work and why they’re good for the environment and good for your pocketbook. Learn how to get the most miles-per-gallon with your current vehicle.

Energy
Every time Joe and Jane Consumer get a utility bill they are rudely reminded of how much energy they consume. The NWA Green Expo will help distinguish between hype and fact about energy consumption and the options for savings. Get practical advice on how to cut your family’s dependence on fossil-fueled power and ways to pursue a more eco-conscious way of life.

Lifestyles & Recreation
There are many ways to participate in sustainable recreation. Typically, a green vacation is one which minimizes air and auto travel; but even vacations with those transportation options can have a low environmental impact and respect for the culture and well-being of the local populations.

Environmental Education
This category includes local, state, and federal agencies and non-profit organizations that promote conservation, green building, recycling and eco friendly programs. Colleges, universities and technical centers which train and prepare students for future green collar jobs will be a part of the NWA Green Expo.

Eco-Friendly Businesses
See companies who meet higher standards of environmental performance and whose actions to conserve resources, prevent pollution, and minimize waste are the goals of green business. Recent surveys show that 90% of consumers prefer to do business with environmentally friendly companies. Yet, 70% think that many companies use “green” as a marketing ploy. At the NWA Green Expo you will learn how to determine for yourself which companies truly deserve your patronage and have demonstrated a commitment to the environment.

Lawn & Garden
For the outside learn about natural lawn care, how to grow your own vegetables at home - even indoors.

Saturday's Activities

10 - 11 a.m.
Meet
Natalie White,
winner of Survivor: Samoa. Natalie will be available to meet and sign autographs.






11 a.m.
Meet
EcoGeeco
Meet the ECO HERO that saves the planet through teaching knowledge to the children of Earth. He teachs the 4 R's of sustainability: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Rethink. Everyone knows the first three but when it comes to Rethink people may already be doing it and not realize it. Rethink what you do everyday in order to make it greener. Its easier than you think. 

We can all be ECO HERO'S if we change little things in our lives. Teaching our children to save the planet and to help them pass it on will change everything and make the planet a better place.

12 p.m.
Clean Water Raingers
Watershed Show
Singer/songwriter Marshall Mitchell will perform orginal songs written for the IRWP around the subjects: The Watershed Song, Planting Trees, Riparian Buffer Zone, Habitat, Rain Garden, and Rivers, Lakes and Streams.  Marshall will share about  "what is a watershed" and "how trees help improve water quality". Marshall will talk about the CWR club 
and how you can join. Receive a cool watershed activity book, coloring book, trail hankies and more.

1 p.m. Mad Science Show
Mad Science^® is on a mission to spark the imagination and curiosity of children by providing them with fun, interactive and educational programs that instill a clear understanding of what science is really about and how it affects their world. Don't miss this fun and exciting program.


Enjoy all day long!

Energy Efficiency Display
How much pedal power does it take to light a bulb? Test your skills at the Expo.
Gain helpful insights into making your home the most efficient it can be by registering to have a free energy audit done in your home.

Brought to you by the City of Bentonville, Carroll Electric, SWEPCO and Arkansas Western Gas/Source Gas.


Wild Wilderness Drive Through Safari
What do you feed a

hippopotamus? How fast can a kangaroo jump? How many species of animals can be found at Wild Wilderness Safari? Get answers at the NWA Green Expo and find out why it so important to take care of our friends and maybe even meet a fury friend on Saturday, May 1.


Ozark Natural Science Center
Stop by the Ozark Natural Science Center (ONSC) booth for some fun, hand-on educational activities for kids and adults that provide a small taste of what ONSC provides for the region. Join in some fun while learning about the environment and keeping in alignment with the ONSC mission to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the Ozark natural environment www.onsc.us.

Coca Cola Recycling Education Vehicle
In 2010, three Recycling Education Vehicles will tour the United States and Canada, educating consumers about the importance of recylcing. Making its appearance at the NWA Green Expo, activities will include:
    -Recycling trivia and games
    -Rewards for recycling
     participation
    -Education videos
    -Music
    -Fun for consumers!

A Little Hope
Meet Anna Hope and receive a free pecan tree sapling to plant at your own home.