As part of the national Earth Week celebration April 21 to 25, the city of Boynton Beach will have a series of educational activities and talks on the city's existing greenways, blueways and trailways projects.

The greenways/bikeways network encourages people to leave their cars at home and explore alternative means of recreation and transportation and makes it easier for school children to bike to school.

"We hope to create a livable, sustainable system to meet the demands of our population," said Carisse LeJeune, assistant city manager.

Demographic trends indicate many seniors are relocating from the suburbs back to the cities.

"Aging baby boomers and the generation after them are choosing to live in high-density urban areas when they retire," LeJeune said. "But, they want these areas to have entertainment, culture, be walkable and near public transportation."

She said that the city has "shovel-ready" projects on hand, waiting for state funding to become available.

"The Earth Week activities engage the community and conservation organizations to learn about the city's existing greenways, blueways and trailways," said Debby Coles-Dobay, the city's public arts manager. "Future plans are to link these areas with their points of interest to regional systems beyond Boynton's borders."

Events include a mangrove walk at the marina bird walk by Linda Humphries, Audubon vice president, and a walk and talk along the Old Dixie Eco Walk with eco-artist Lucy Keshavarz.

Keshavarz will discuss her work, butterfly migration, endangered butterflies, their habitats and the benefits of native plantings.

Warren Adams, the city's historical preservation planner and the forester/environmentalist, will give an historical preservation talk and specimen tree walk.

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Eco walk, butterflies highlight city's Earth Week events