Over 800 people celebrated the wonders of nature on May 1, 2004 at Earthplace.  The day kicked off with the Hall Family singing "Love the Earth" songs.  Mark Westman, Master Falconer and director of Talons! A Bird of Prey Experience, educated and thrilled with crowd with his beautiful falcons, hawks and owls.  The birds also flew free over the Universal Trail in the afternoon. 

World-renowned naturalist and wildlife expert Jim Fowler was the special guest of the day.  Jim is an inspiration to many adults from his many years on Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" television program, and his stories of his dealings with animals enraptured visitors of all ages.  Greg Malvino, wildlife specialist, brought several special animals, including a two-toed sloth, a toucan, an iguana and an albino python.

Children made bird puppets and marched along with the giant puppet dancers from Waking Dream Performance Company.  Several community groups displayed information about nature, including the Westport Public Library, the Westport/Weston Health District, the CT DEP Master Wildlife Conservationists, the CT Master Gardeners, the Fairfield County Horticulture Association, the Back Yard Beekeepers Association, the Silvermine African Violet Society and KidsEvents.com.  Visitors created trash bugs, danced around a maypole, walked along a nature scavenger hunt and participated in other nature-related activities.