Earth Day celebrations aren't just about kids cooking hot dogs on tin foil.

The seventh annual Pahrump Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Honeysuckle Park will have information on ways to improve the environment yearround.

"We're talking about reducing, reusing, responding and recycling, the four Rs of waste reduction, that's the impetus of this Earth Day event," said John Pawlak, chairman of the Pahrump Nuclear Waste and Environmental Board.

"It's just there to remind you that every day should be a day that we conserve and we think about our planet, what we're doing to it," Pawlak said.

Earth Day was started by former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, D-Wis., a prominent environmentalist, in 1970. The actual date is April 22.

Today the event is celebrated in 141 countries. The original theme was overpopulation, the event now focuses on issues like recycling and global warming.

Ace Hardware hopes to have affordable wind generators on display that can be powered with less wind.

Pahrump Valley Auto Mart will have a Chevy Cobalt on display, one of the top 10 "green cars" in America.

Representatives of Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge will talk about their programs.

Star Nursery will give information on planting. The University of Nevada, Reno Cooperative Extension Service master gardeners will also be there.

Donna Lamb will be throwing pottery.

Water saver kits, containing things like shower heads that use less water and energy saving kits like weatherizing gaskets are usually available.

Children from the Native American community will have a teepee, local boys and girl scouts will set up games. Sparky the Fire Dog will be there.

The Moose Lodge will be cooking the food, the band D'Nile will provide entertainment.

Pawlak said his board will have an information booth on reducing and recycling waste, also on issues like water quality, septic tanks and air quality.

Representatives of BEC Environmental, a Nye County consulting firm, will be on hand to talk about the Wellhead Protection Program and water quality in Pahrump Valley. Representatives of Joe's Sanitation will be present to talk about septic tanks.

Pahrump Valley Disposal will have recycling bins on hand.

The Southern Nye County Conservation District and Great Basin College will be represented.

More energy efficient compact, fluorescent light bulbs will be given away as prizes, Pawlak said.

The event is scheduled to coincide with the spring equinox. It also is timed alongside the annual Pahrump town cleanup from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pawlak said both events work well together.

"The people who come out there for the town cleanup are usually the green people, people who take care of their areas and are environmentally aware," Pawlak said.

Former Nye County Commissioner Patricia Cox, coordinator of the ninth annual Pahrump Town Cleanup, said it's hard to predict how many people will show up, since many turn up at the last minute. It usually varies between 200 to 300 people, she said. The best turnout was 398 volunteers.

"Every year the dumpsters are all full and we have hundreds of bags," Cox said. "It definitely makes a dent and it looks cleaner."

The cleanup will target over 98 miles of roadways, with each volunteer assigned to clean up one mile of road. Cox said volunteers will only spend about an hour cleaning up.

"We're just doing roadways. If we had more participation from the community we could do more. However with the amount of people that show up we look at the most heavily traveled roads, they get the most trash first," she said.

While hundreds show up for the annual cleanup, Cox said service clubs pick up trash along the highways periodically.

Anyone who wants to volunteer for the cleanup is asked to call the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce at 727-5800 to get an assignment.

Volunteers who want to clean up somewhere else, like their own yard, can also take advantage of three dumpsters that will be placed around town -- at the Bob Ruud Community Center on Highway 160 and Basin Avenue; at Gamebird and Homestead roads and at Mesquite Avenue and Blagg Road.

A sign-in area will be set up from 7 a.m. to noon Saturday at Honeysuckle Park where orange trash bags, vests donated by the Nevada Department of Transportation, water, donuts, coffee and a safety form will be available listing items volunteers shouldn't touch.

Pahrump Valley Disposal is donating equipment and workers for the event.

"We will place families in areas that have less traffic and where the speed limit is reduced for their safety. We are asking everyone to place the orange trash bags on the side of the road at least six feet from the pavement. We need enough room for the dump trucks to safely pull off the road and pick up the trash bags," Cox said.

She suggests volunteers wear comfortable walking shoes, gloves, a hat, sunscreen and bring extra water. Awards will be presented to the most bags of trash collected, youngest group of volunteers, most participation by a business or organization, the person who cleaned up the longest distance and for the longest time.