When a summer day arrives in February between a snowfall and a hail storm, we pay attention to the Earth. Climate changing on a wavelength short enough to be obvious to humans is a call to make some changes in our patterns of living on this planet. Pat Conaway and the Earth Day Committee volunteers are working to prepare a unique opportunity to examine our choices in relation to Earth and get our hands in the dirt making positive changes.
The annual Natick Earth Day gathering, in its eighth year, will be celebrated Sunday, April 22, 11am-3pm, on the Natick Common. In accordance with this year’s theme, Make Natick Renewable and Beautiful, we are invited to Natick Green-up Week leading up to Earth Day. “Come help us ‘green up’ some beautiful spaces which are often abused (Dug and Fisk Ponds, Coolidge Hill, and Pegan Cove Park),” Conaway writes in the press release. Each morning from Tuesday, April 17 to Friday, April 20, volunteers will gather between 9am and 12pm at a different spot to work on trails, remove litter, sweep broken glass, and cut back invasive species. If you would like to volunteer, email bpconaway@gmail.com for the itinerary.
The Earth Day gathering itself is a celebration of our community and connection to the Earth, embracing the growing ethnic, religious, and political-philosophical diversity of the town. Vendors from neighboring towns will offer an array of food choices as people meet and learn about bee keepers, salsa makers, gardeners, farmers, grassroots organizations, solar companies, artisans, choirs, and more. Earth-friendly water stations will be available.
Along Common Street, the Department of Public Works invites young people to climb around on, inspect, and toot horns of its large vehicles, such as street sweepers and recycling trucks.
Adults will have educational opportunities to explore environmental problems that threaten the entire world: climate change, toxins in our air and water, storm water runoff, and disposable plastic. In addition, many local organizations such as the Natick Community Organic Farm, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, and Mass Audobon’s Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary, will share the creative ways they are contributing to healthful life for all.
Natick’s Director of Sustainability, Jillian Wilson-Martin, has introduced a pilot curbside composting program. Renewable Natick is a grassroots organization recently launched with the aim of making Natick a 100% Renewable Town (fossil fuel-free). These and many other local initiatives offer hope for harmonious living in our natural environment. As of August 2017, Natick joined 61 other Massachusetts communities that have banned single-use plastic carryout bags. Citizens recently passed a resolution to ban food-service Styrofoam at the 2017 Fall Town Meeting.
For the first time, Earth Day 2018 will offer test drives on Electric Vehicles (EV’s) provided by private citizens, Massachusetts Energy Consumer Alliance, and 350Mass.org. While children enjoy the mini trampolines, local bands and choirs will help sustain a buoyant hope in our future, no matter what the weather.
For more information and a schedule of the event, visit http://natickearthday.org.
Issue Date:
March, 2018
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