Community Responds To Earth Day Events

By Kendra Bobowick

Undo global warming. Crush the urge to toss trash onto the roadside. Raise children with a built-in sympathy for the Earth. Is it possible? With one wish in mind in the spirit of Earth Day, these are on the list of changes residents and officials would like to see if just one thing could be different.

Glancing at the possibilities, resident Jodi Gold of Solar Works Inc, a full service solar integration company that builds and design solar panel systems, said, “We should educate our children about the benefits of being environmentally conscientious.” With concern she added, “If we don’t teach them how to live better, then what do we do? How do we go forward?” Pointing to the evidence of those who have not yet learned to kick one habit in the way of better living, Clean Energy Task Force member Ben Toby, FuelCell Energy Inc, a “highly green” fuel cell and power generation equipment company, commented, “It hurts to see the trash on the ground.”

What changes would he like to see? “I would change their [litter] habits to preserve the beauty of Newtown, not trash it.” he said. Like him, resident and parent Rosemary Larkin’s one change would be to undo the process of global warming. She wishes to leave a positive mark, reverse the warming, and “give the animals back their habitat.” Ms Larkin, Ms Gold, and Mr Toby are among a handful of individuals representing schools, businesses, or organizations who have recently added their names to the growing crowd of guests at Newtown’s first organized Earth Day Celebration slated for April 26. An afternoon of fun and information will take place at the Newtown Middle School and include demonstrations, trail hikes, educational activities, and games for children, including sack races.

Also joining the environmental queue for Earth Day is the Housatonic Valley Waldorf School. Enrollment Director Therese Lederer, who learned about the town’s Earth Day efforts from parent Rosemary Larkin with twin boys Jeremy and Dillon in the first grade, is excited to participate. “We see it as a natural fit,” she said. Environmental sentiments, for one “are embedded in our curriculum,” Ms Lederer explained.

For example, the third grade students create an agricultural block, and also maintain the composting. She offered one more example of a “perfect fit” between the school and environmental awareness. The school uses only natural materials in the classrooms. In fact, students will soon take raw wool with blue and green dye and shape it into “little earth balls,” she said. From an e-mail Ms Lederer sent, she states more clearly why Earth Day works well with the school. “Right from early childhood a respect for nature and the rhythm of the seasons is fostered.” Wood, wool, colorful silks and other natural items fill classrooms. Curriculums for younger grades include stories of  Native American stories, animals, and nature.

Ms Lederer wrote, “We are thrilled to be part of raising consciousness about Earth Day in Newtown and to help promote the sentiment that every day should be Earth Day.” On display at the middle school during April 26 events will be seventh-grade student Elisa Navarro’s winning entry from a recent regional recycling poster contest. The school’s booth will combine education and enjoyment with lessons for children, she said.

Ms Larkin also sees the similarities between the school and Earth Day. “It is so well aligned with what the school does.” Excited to be “in on” the first organized Earth Day event in town, she is eager to take part in the April 26 celebration. As an Earth-friendly school, she said the Waldorf community “really takes it to heart, it’s in the fiber of Waldorf.”

 

Opening Eyes

Mr Toby also has an interest in raising awareness about the environment, and how his company is part of a greener future. The fuel cell power plants run on natural and biogases coming from landfills and sewage treatment plants, for example, which emit “gas that is bad for the air,” he said. “We run it through a fuel cell for energy and that’s a beautiful thing.”  Also as a concerned resident, he hopes his company’s participation in events draws people’s attention to clean energy, for one. Also a task force member, Mr Toby said, “It’s helpful” for people to know about fuel cells, clean energy, and alternatives to the power households use daily.

Ms Gold’s company is taking its place in the celebration also for informational reasons. Coming from a solar power-based company, she explained, “Why join? To continually be educating people about alternative energy sectors so they know their options.” One option includes rebates. Visit solarworksinc.com, which states, “The Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) offers rebates for Connecticut residents who install solar electric (photovoltaic) systems on their homes…”

Dan Holmes, the Energy Task Force chairman and event organizer for the upcoming Earth Day celebration, welcomes these and other community representatives with an interest in the environment. The Conservation Commission will take part along with Graceful Planet, Our Green House, JK’s Pizza, and a host of other environmental groups or conservation-minded businesses such as Mocha’s Coffeehouse, the Pootatuck Watershed Association, Newtown Forest Association, and more.

“We’re really picking up momentum,” Mr Holmes said. He is still accepting calls from prospective vendors. Contact him at 270-3331.

Already on the agenda for the Earth Day kick-off on the weekend is a day filled with “something for everyone.”

From 10 am to noon will be an educational session at the Newtown Middle School with the Candlewood Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Mark storm drains with the high school Ecology Club and Pootatuck Watershed Association; meet at 8 am at the middle school. Conservationist Pat Barkman will conduct Al’s Trail Maintenance between 10 am and 2 pm. Meet at the middle school.

Head outdoors and hike on an Ecology Walk and learn about recent open space acquisitions, backyard ecology, wetland protection, and more. Meet at the middle school at 2 pm. Those more interested in a quick lessons can enjoy the presentation, “What is an Aquifer?” in the middle school gymnasium between 10 am and 2 pm.

Also throughout the day Saturday information will be available about alternative energy choices, green living methods and products, organic foods, and more.

Residents throughout town are urged to make an effort with their neighbors to “adopt a road” and do a roadside cleanup along their street. Mr Holmes wrote in an e-mail, “I hope many residents will find time to participate in one or more events and do their seemingly small, yet critical en-masse effort.”

For more information about Earth Day celebrations in Newtown, contact 270-3331 or visit Gogreennewtown.com.

(Watch for more articles for additional information about local Earth Day events and environmental concerns.)