Earth Day is right around the corner and the Earthwise Society is planning a number of events to mark the occasion.

On Thursday, April 22, the society will begin a busy couple of days with a wellness fair and film screening at its Boundary Bay location. The fair, which starts at 6 p.m., runs for an hour and will feature information booths and displays about food health from local businesses.

After the fair, Academy Award-nominated documentary Food Inc. will be shown. According to Earthwise's Michelle McEwan, the movie should set the tone of the evening.

"The movie relates to everything we're trying to do at Earthwise," she said.

The film, directed by Emmy Award winner Robert Kenner, examines corporate farming in the United States and discovers the meat and vegetables produced by big agribusiness have many hidden costs, can be unhealthy and harm the environment.

After the film, there will be a discussion regarding food safety locally with a number of speakers. The speakers include students from the Sustainable Resources 12 class from South Delta Secondary, a representative from Budget Foods and a local nutritionist.

Saturday, April 24 will be an eventful day for Earthwise. A large plant sale will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and there will be activities for children from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

"There will be face painting, seed planting and stories for the kids," McEwen said. "For parents we will have tours of our farm, and offer tips on garden growing."

McEwen said the plant sale will be all about ecologically friendly plants and not traditional plants you might see in stores.

Later this summer, Earthwise will host Gaia College's Organic Master Garender certification course. An information session about the course will take place on June 28, with the course running from July 5 to Aug. 26 on Monday and Thursday evenings.

"This is a very thorough 16-session course and deals with everything from soil preparation to composting," McEwen said.

For more information on the course and Earthwise, visit www.earthwisesociety.bc.ca.