Edens Edge Returns Home To Arkansas To Promote Environmental Awareness

WHY:  Both events are free and open to the public featuring booths, activities & music for the whole family, sponsored by Brita® Water Filtration Products & Burt’s Bees® Natural Personal Care Products. Both Clorox Company Brands will be hosting interactive booths to help drive awareness of simple changes everyone can make to live eco-friendly lives. 
 
Arkansas natives, Edens Edge, recently debuted their single, “Amen,” to radio. The EP will be available on iTunes on May 24. The trio will be on tour this summer opening for Brad Paisley on his H2OII: Wetter & Wilder World Tour. For all things Edens Edge, visit edensedge.com.
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Q&A WITH EDENS EDGE ON IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS:
 
1. How does nature impact your artistic process?
DEAN BERNER: Nature has always been a big part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of hiking through the Ozark Mountains with my family, and I can't help but think it's had a huge influence on how I approach writing and music. One of my favorite places to write is in a beautiful natural place, where there is a scenic view or a quiet stream rolling by, because nature has its own rhythms and movements which are inherently musical. More than anything, for me, being in nature is the most direct and satisfying way to replenish my own place of inspiration and creativity.??CHERRILL GREEN: I grew up in the country so I end up writing a lot about where I come from, the space, the sounds, the clean air and the beautiful stars in the evening.??HANNAH BLAYLOCK: My family vacations always involved experiencing nature – camping, rock climbing, horseback riding, etc. Even in the Bahamas we camped in a tent the whole time. I’ve also always lived around lots of space and nature. I spent the first 7 years of my life in the last frontier of America in Alaska and then moved to a 600 acre cattle farm in Arkansas. Being in nature is where my soul truly belongs. It’s where I go to realign with my true self and it’s where I can experience God the most. Everything washes away and my mind clears and life is simple and beautiful.
 
2. Do you have a personal way that you try to live a more sustainable life?
DEAN BERNER: When I was in college, I did my senior thesis on Sustainable Development. One of the main things that I learned is that it takes many small changes in your life to make a big impact for sustainability. I try to recycle everything that I can, use LED light bulbs (and turn them off when I leave a room), take shorter showers, eat locally produced food, and carpool when I can. Those all seem like small things, but it all adds up!??CHERRILL GREEN: I always turn lights off when I leave a room and during the day I enjoy letting the natural light in through the windows. I also don’t get a copy of receipts if I don’t need them. It doesn’t sound like much, but I read once how much it could help if people just cut out printing a receipt at the gas pump.
HANNAH BLAYLOCK: The last semester of college I enrolled in an environmental science class that involved community service. I chose to be a volunteer for a local Nashville nonprofit documentary called “Kilowatt Ours” and I went into classrooms with kids of all ages and educated them on how energy works, what resources are used to get it, and how it affects the environment. We also taught them cheap or free ways to save energy. It was amazing because I learned so much about what I can do NOW to help conserve energy and stay inside my budget. I put all LED lights in my house, learned what electronics had phantom power and kept them unplugged when I wasn’t using them or put them in a power cord that I could flip off the connection, put a towel at the door in the winter to improve insulation, turned off the air and opened the windows during Spring and Fall, and recycled my trash. In the future, I hope to be able to obtain energy independence one day including having a compost bin, rain water bin, solar power, etc.
 
3. What can artists add to the debate and discussion about sustainability that scientists, politicians and academics cannot?
DEAN BERNER: Artists can have a very big influence on the discussion about sustainability! Music, literature and all other art forms can give greater meaning to nature in the public eye in a way that facts, figures and legislation cannot. For example, Ansel Adams' photography was instrumental in influencing Congress to protect several of America's most beautiful sites as National Parks. Or think of the song, “America The Beautiful,” and how many people it has impacted.  These pieces of art have helped many people understand the beauty of nature and hence the importance of protecting our environmental resources by living sustainably. I think this is because we aren't purely rational beings – we love to feel as well! The impact of art makes people feel, which many times is more influential in shifting public opinion than facts and figures can be.  Art has the power to change the world and is a necessary part of any campaign to create a more sustainable world.??CHERRILL GREEN: As a kid I remember really looking up to a certain artist and wanting to be like them. I’m sure if I would have heard one of them say what they did to live a more sustainable life, then I would have probably incorporated it into my life because I looked up to them.??HANNAH BLAYLOCK: We don’t study this subject. We have the same challenges in life with our carbon footprint as anyone especially considering all the traveling we do. People with our jobs have a wide array of salaries and circumstances that make up our daily lives. We are good examples that with the power of knowledge, anyone can contribute to energy conservation – no matter what your budget or lifestyle is.