Some people talk the talk. Others choose to walk the walk.

Like the gang over at the local Eastern Mountain Sports branch, who continue to make inroads into the community. Manager Dennis Morang, a Gardiner native, has spent the last seven years combating the notion that EMS is just a national chain out to make a buck.

He hopes Club Day on Saturday is one of the things that can continue to speak for his staff's commitment to central Maine. It's an annual celebration that brings local outdoors groups to the store to help boost interest in what they and EMS have to offer.

"It's really two-fold," Morang said of Club Day, which is now in its third incarnation, the one he believes will be most successful. "First, it's about rewarding local club members with an opportunity to hit all the new gear that we have before other people do at a discount.

"But, secondly and most importantly, it's about encouraging some of our existing customers who aren't involved with these groups to get involved."

The Pine Tree State Arboretum, Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed, Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Kennebec Messalonskee Trails, Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance and a wilderness response team from Waterville will all be at EMS on Saturday. The store hopes to provide an avenue for boosting interest in local outdoors pursuits.

"It's for the general public and telling them, 'Hey, get out there,' " Morang said. "This is the playground up here -- we have the woods, the lakes, the trails, all the things we love to do. There's lots of good stuff in the works here, and this Club Day just kicks it all off."

All of the groups participating in Club Day are non-profit organizations. Without help from the public at large, they cannot function. Without donations, no trail system at the Arboretum would exist. Without volunteers, no milfoil inspections would take place on Cobbossee Lake.

If we're all happily taking part in our outdoors here, Morang says, we ought to be willing to do more to preserve it.

And he's passionately encouraging anybody who's out there listening to lend a hand.

"There's all kinds of ways to help out," he said. "It's not just monetary. You can volunteer some time, too. Let's all really rally around it this time. These places don't exist without help, without money and without volunteers. The Arboretum doesn't have any of its plant groups, any of its trail system without help from all of us."

Club Day offers a great incentive.

Already a member of one of the myriad of outdoors clubs in the area? Great -- you get a discount on any purchase you make Saturday at EMS and you can enter into a raffle where the grand prize is a fully loaded GPS unit from Garmin.

Not a member?

Not a problem. Sign up to volunteer some time cleaning up hiking trails this spring or purchase a membership at the Arboretum and you're instantly eligible for all of the club offers at EMS this weekend.

It's a win-win situation.

In addition to the various clubs in attendance, EMS will also have food, raffles and user-friendly clinics. Instead of scheduled times, EMS staffers will have kayak, GPS, boot-fitting, clothing and other clinics ready to go as people show interest. A dry-land kayak demonstration will be set up, and a geocache will be planted nearby so new GPS users can test out the features.

Originally used to drum up interest in local activities, the EMS Club Day became more of a sales-driven event during the last couple of years.

It was something that never sat particularly well with Morang, and he was pleased to see the event return to a focus on helping the community.

Like I said, there are some people willing to walk the walk.

"I've got a ton of staff here that spends their time out in woods," Morang said. "Last September, we all went over and helped clean up China Lake. We hauled a dozen bags of trash out there.

"I'd like to think that we're not just talking it up. We're looking to go out and actually get involved."

Right here at home.

"We just want to keep it local," Morang said. "We need to keep it to the Kennebec, to the residents of this area to make it meaningful for them. Who's going to sign up for a paddle group in Bangor? We may have people come here from there, but you're not going to drive up there to kayak every week.

"It has to be about Augusta and Gardiner, Waterville and Winslow, the areas around those places. That's what we focused on. These groups (participating in Club Day) are excited to be here."

Travis Barrett -- 621-5648

tbarrett@centralmaine.com