Earth Day 2009 Will Bring Out Nature, Beauty Of Newtown

By Kendra Bobowick

“We’re going on a hike, we’re going on a hike,” the children had shouted last April, minutes before Conservation Commission member Pat Barkman led the small group on a nature walk during the town’s first Earth Day celebration. Minutes later they hopped from stone to stone avoiding skunk cabbage emerging in the woods.

This year’s “Wonders of Nature Hike” will be held at noon on Saturday, April 25, as one of the key elements of Earth Day 2009 — a daylong event beginning at 10 am at Newtown Middle School. Ms Barkman, her husband Leon Barkman, and Newtown’s Land Use Deputy Director Rob Sibley will lead the hike. Children especially can explore nature and enjoy the pristine wilderness near the center of town.

Leaving behind small footprints alongside the larger impressions, the adults and younger residents last year had wandered through Al’s Trail and Fairfield Hills where Deep Brook flows. This year’s walk will wind through open space — a valued element in a town that is still seeing the cut of new streets and building lots.

Part ecology and part muddy feet, the 2008 Earth Day celebration was a beginning. This year’s event, between 10 am and 4 pm, will again include a nature walk exploring the outdoors with Ms Barkman. Parents should accompany children under 9 years old. The walk will begin at noon and residents should gather at the Newtown Middle School sign. Bring a lunch, or buy something to eat at the from one of the Earth Day vendors.

Wear long pants and sturdy walking/hiking shoes. Crocs, sandals, or clogs are not advised.

What does Ms Barkman expect to find?

“Everything; spring growth, wild flowers, street names — there is farmland right in the middle of town, a pristine brook, meadows, bird habitat,” she said, adding that she hopes this year’s group is filled with questions, and remembers to lace up good hiking shoes. Her message? Preserve our natural habitats. Newtown would have fewer without efforts from town personnel and volunteer groups such as the Conservation Commission and Newtown Forest Association, which watch closely for opportunities to spare parcels for open space, wildlife sanctuary, and passive recreation.

Ms Barkman this week stresses education. She hopes to impart the importance of biodiversity, and the necessity of protecting the earth for future generations — part of her commission’s work that also aims to protect Newtown’s scenic and rural character.

The Conservation Commission members also will have an educational display up for the Earth Day 2009 celebration. Learn how to use a compass and binoculars for tracking birds, how to identify trees and leaves, and see animal skulls and other clues left by nature.

Learn about the relationship between development and open space, or “smart growth.” Understand how residents with land they would like to preserve can give it to the town as open space, and determine strategies to keep the land by means of easements, full or partial gifts, bargain sales, and other innovative strategies

Learn about hiking in Newtown, where open space is located, and how the town’s investments will help keep the rate of tax growth in check.

 

The History Of

What We See

Ecology and history joined for Town Historian Dan Cruson as he noted the back story to a preserved area the Earth Day hikers walked last year. Al’s Trail, named for Al Goodrich, commemorates the late resident who worked with Mary Mitchell to compile trail books for hikers to tour the wooded areas and preserves in Newtown.

“He did so much in terms of marking trails where people can walk,” Mr Cruson said.

In 2008 the walk wound through Fairfield Hills, the former state hospital land purchased by the town, which comes with its own history as a psychiatric facility until it shut down in the late 1990s. Before the state built the hospital in the early 1930s, the land belonged to farmers.

Open space concepts and preservation efforts arose “before the word ecology was coined,” Mr Cruson said, referring to the early emergence of Newtown Forest Association (NFA).

“Newtown’s concerns go back to the 1920s, the [NFA] has been preserving land for a long time,” the historian confirmed.

Jumping forward a few decades, Mr Cruson remembers one incident that jumpstarted many residents’ interest in preserving a parcel near the Halfway River along Route 34, rather than see it developed. One developer wanted to put in a sports car race track, Mr Cruson explained. Developers suggested discontinuing a trail in the area to make room for the track.

“Suddenly people became aware of what was happening and sent up a hue and cry,” he recalls. Thoughts soon turned to zoning regulations. The race track, in part, was the impetus for zoning regulations in Newtown. “People realized that a major sports car track would have changed the complexion of the area completely.”

Years later, in the 1970s, another track proposal for horse racing emerged, seeking land near New Lebbon Road.

“That also would have changed the entire southern part of town,” said Mr Cruson. “It would have changed the landscape dramatically.” Luckily, zoning regulations were in place by that point.

Without Newtown’s zoning regulations, the town easily could look like a long, continuous chain of strip malls along Route 25, spilling down Church Hill Road, and along Route 34. “At least zoning has reigned this in some,” he said.

Speaking historically, Mr Cruson can note the mosaic of backgrounds forming Newtown. His message for hikers on April 25? “Basically, we have such a diverse history here.”

Noting that on a smaller scale the town is similar to the state and nation, he said, “I think people don’t realize it’s all here. We have examples of industrial rise and fall, evolution of farming, we have preserved architectural marvels.”

Mr Cruson advises residents to enjoy the day “with awareness,” and travel on foot in the open space. “People can see what it is and what we can do,” he said.

Earth Day 2009

Schedule

Residents of all ages will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate and observe Earth Day when Newtown’s Clean Energy Task Force presents its Second Annual Earth Day Festival. The festival itself will run from 10 am to 4 pm; some events start earlier or have specific start times. See below.

*Kicking off the day is an ecumenical service at 7 am at the top of Castle Hill at Old Castle Hill Drive. All are welcome to the brief ceremony celebrating a world left in our care.

*The annual Lose the Litter event, run by Newtown Lions Club, will be from 9 am to 1 pm. Bags and gloves are provided, and residents can pick a street they want or take any remaining open location to clean up.

*Graceful Planet will offer family yoga to start the day.

*The Graceful Planet’s Karma Dance Project will offer performances of Peter & the Wolf during the day.

*A potato sack race will earn participants prizes.

*The Environmental Maze will be running from noon to 3 pm. Kids of all ages can test their environmental awareness in a maze and earn prizes.

*Bicycle safety inspections will be offered from 1 to 2 pm. Ride your bikes to Earth Day and get a free safety inspection at Don’s Cycle Expo.

*“Magic Marty” (magician Marty Sternberg) will be performing.

*Educational forums will include “Toxins in the Home” with Dr Gary Ginsberg at 11 am; “Responsible Investing” with Ben Roberts (Conscious Financial Directions) at 11:30; “A Healthier You” with Dr LaDonna Dakofsky at 1 pm; “Eating in Season” by Nina Stout (Nina Stout Wellness) at 1:45; “Green Building” with Dan Morrison (The Taunton Press) at 2:15; and a presentation about residential solar installations by Bill Weber (Alteris Renewables), time TBA.

The day’s activities also include a Recycled Drum Circle (“come and beat to the sound of your inner drummer”), a raffle to win a beautiful seasonal bouquet donated by Newtown Florist; an exhibition of GM’s Hydrogen Car; kid’s fun, fairy crowns and wands, face painting, and henna tattoos from The Graceful Planet; a display of the winners of Mocha Coffeehouse’s 2nd Annual Recycled Art Show; toy solar car race, nature arts and crafts, seed planting, fly-casting, live music, and plenty of food.

According to the Clean Energy Task Force, the second annual Earth Day Festival is a full-day of family fun and learning highlighting Newtown’s abundant natural resources designed to help the community become “greener.” Visit the task force’s website, GoGreenNewtown.com, for additional information.