Alys Beach, Florida – (April 8, 2008) – Alys Beach will host an Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 19th.

Free and open to the public, the day's festivities will begin with a seminar entitled "Building Better Homes and Towns by Building Green." Held at Fonville Press on 30A, the discussion will showcase environmentally-friendly homes, towns and building practices.

"A growing number of homebuilders and developers are including environmental initiatives in their operations, and many local residents are looking for homes and towns built with green features," said Christian Wagley, Alys Beach's Environmental Program Manager. "We'll be learning how green development standards result in better homes and neighborhoods."

The seminar will also include a walking tour of Alys Beach to examine real-world applications such as innovative storm water treatments, energy-efficiency measures for coastal homes, solar panels and more. Seminar speakers will include Christian Wagley of Alys Beach, Jeff Allen of Stalwart Built Homes, Carl Roberts of EcoSmart Inc., Kendall Horne of Alys Beach, Teresa Howard of Gulf Power Company and Chandra Hartman of CFH Design Studio.

The seminar will be held from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is requested. To register, please e-mail events@alysbeach.com. From 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., Fonville Press will serve a special lunch menu featuring local and organic foods. Starting at noon, children of all ages can enjoy heating treats on a solar oven, an environmental scavenger hunt, and many earth-friendly games and activities.

Additional afternoon Earth Day activities include Nonie’s Ark Animal Encounter where visitors will be able to meet turtles, toads and other local and exotic wildlife, and Mike Clark will share examples of 300-million-year-old fossils and crystals from a local quarry. Perpetual Imagination will also host a "Hands on Ecology" learning class from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Visitors will also be invited to kick the tires of a new Toyota Prius hybrid car.

For more information about Alys Beach's Earth Day celebration, please contact Christian Wagley at (850) 213-5613 or christian@alysbeach.com.