{news} Earth Day events around CT

[David Bedell]

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18201336
North Haven Post
CT Outdoors: Celebration of Earth Day starts Saturday
04/12/2007
By:Frederick Nevin
Editor

It's hard to believe that it has been 37 years since we celebrated the first
Earth Day on April 22, 1970.
Indeed, a lot has happened since its founder, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson
came up with the idea by first convincing President John F. Kennedy to put
it on the map by going on an environmental tour in September, 1963. the
five-day tour set the seed for The first Earth Day to be held several years
later.

It was a grassroots effort, Nelson recalled. The amazing thing is it was an
event that organized itself.
Now, 37 years later, the grassroots effort continues and, amazingly, the
celebration still organzes itself in towns and cities across Connecticut and
the rest of the U.S. Events have also expanded to more than Earth Day, this
Saturday. This year, you can find events that stretch into early May.

Many events are scheduled, including the following:

April 14 to 20. A Week Long Earth Day Celebration,Eastern Connecticut State
University (ECSU), Willimantic. The height of festivities will be on April
18 with a campus-wide celebration. Details are available at
www.easternct.edu/ecsu/cses/ED07

April 14, Step It Up 2007 - National Day of Climate Action. Events scheduled
throughout Conn. and the US. Visit stepitup2007.org for an events schedule.

April 14, Earth Day 2007 - Planting the Seed for Energy Efficiency -
Protecting Mother Nature Smart Living Center, 297 Boston Post Road, Orange,
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Events include: Scout Troop Content where troops with the
most scouts attending the Earth Day event will win a $50 gift certificate
from Perrotti's Garden Center.
Beautiful to Eye and Sky Contest - Bring pictures of your
environmentally-friendly, energy-conscious beautiful backyard. The winner
will receive a $250 gift certificate to Perrotti's Garden Center.

April 19, 4th annual Hartford Earth Day Fair, Hartford City Hall, Hartford
Public Library,11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free, all ages welcome. This year's fair
offers hands-on activities and informational exhibits about climate change
and environment as well as entertainment such as a native animal show,
drumming and dancing stilt-walkers, and a recycling magician. Contact the
DEP at 860-424-3694.

April 19. Earth Day Dinner . Sponsored by the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage
Corridor, Inc. The Harvest, Route 44, Pomfret, from 5 to 8 p.m. Members of
the Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor will gather. Guest speaker will be
DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy. Contact: Charlene Perkins Cutler at
860-963-7226 or cpcutler at snet.net

April 19. Lobsters and Lyme: Biodiversity and Global Change in Connecticut
Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The
event is free for the whole family. It will feature talks, demonstrations, a
puppet show, and games and crafts for kids that are fun as well as
educational. Experts will address some issues of concern. Will lobsters
return to the Sound? What are the predictions for West Nile virus and Lyme
disease? Carmela Cuomo, of the Department of Biology & Environmental
Sciences, University of New Haven, will give the keynote address at 12:30
p.m. about the lobster die-off. For further information, visit
www.peabody.yale.edu

April 21, Celebrate Earth and Stars, 6 to 9 p.m. The Children's Museum, 950
Trout Brook Drive, West Hartford. Celebrate the earth and stars at The
Children's Museum. This year's evening celebration will include, TALONS! A
bird of prey experience, telescope viewing, a moon bounce, moon rocks from
NASA, displays by the DEP and Partners in Amphibian Conservation, nature and
astronomy crafts, telescope and binocular raffle, a roaring bonfire and
more! For more information or to pre-register contact
tnorthover at thechildrensmuseumct.org or call (860)231-2824. Pre-registration
cost is $8 for members, $10 for non-members. Walk-in cost is $10 for
members, $12 for nonmembers. www.thechildrensmuseumct.org

April 21. Earth Day celebration at the Beardsley Zoo, 1875 Noble Ave.,
Bridgeport,11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The zoo's 37th Earth Day celebration features
eco-friendly talks, games, activities, crafts, earth friendly vendors and
more. Saturday at 11 a.m., Colin Bennett's talk "Climate change and its
effects on Wildlife"
www.beardsleyzoo.org/whats-new-events/events-calendar.asp

April 21. Mystic Aquarium - "Party for the Planet," Bluff Point State Park,
Groton.
Join Mystic Aquarium staff and volunteers at Bluff Point State Park to work
together as a community to clean up a local coastal area.

April 22. Party for the Planet at the Beardsley Zoo,1875 Noble Ave.,
Bridgeport, noon to 3 p.m. Beardsley Zoo celebrates the 37th annual Earth
Day with a weekend environmental extravaganza. The weekend will include
eco-friendly talks, games, activities, crafts, earth friendly vendors and
more. At 1 p.m., come join the "Environmental Hootenanny" musical
sing-a-long with Tom Callinan and Ann
Shapiro.www.beardsleyzoo.org/whats-new-events/events-calendar.asp

April 22. Earthstock 2007, Paderewski Park, Plainville, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Plainville Conservation Commission is the sponsor. There will be many
eco-friendly exhibits including a bio-fuel car that runs on veggie oil, a
composting demonstration, the Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club, and
Sun Light Solar's solar trailer, etc. There will be entertainment for the
entire family. A sampling of the entertainment for that day will include:
The Great Leone performing at 1 p.m., a scavenger hunt, face painting, and
Cupcake the Clown. Mother Nature will be on hand handing out seed packets.
And there will free blue spruce seedlings available to attendees on a first
come first served basis.

April 22. Mansfield Earth Day Celebration, Mansfield Community Center,
Mansfield 1 to 3 p.m. It features a panel discussion on what we can each do
to conserve energy, a workshop on organic gardening, a nature walk, a
children's recycled paper making activity, music, and earth-friendly
products for sale. Contact: Virginia Walton, Recycling Coordinator,
860-429-3333

April 22. Endangered Species, 1 to 2 p.m. Members from the Connecticut
Audubon Center at Fairfield talk about endangered animals as well as have a
few on hand. Program for children of all ages. Kids Act to Stop Global
Warming-Little People, Big Changes, 2:15 to 3 p.m. Slide presentation and
discussion led by third graders Alex Scaperotta and Jordan Reichgut,
founders of Little People, Big Changes, a group started for kids to take
action to affect the world around them. Encourages environmental
conversation among families
Grassroots Up: How Connecticut Communities are Finding New Ways to Protect
Our Environment, 3 - 4 p.m. Presentation by Brendan Hanrahan of Connecticut
EarthNet. Program presents an overview of the many initiatives currently
being led by local, community-based environmental groups around the state
relating to environmental issues such as sprawl, transportation, pollution
and more.

April 22. Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, 55 Coogan Blvd.,
Mystic. Participate in an aquarium-wide scavenger hunt, create crafts from
recycled materials, and many more earth-friendly activities. Visit
www.mysticaquarium.org to learn more about the Earth Day. Celebration.

April 22. UConn Co-op - Sustainable Living Book Fair and Conference,
University of Connecticut, Storrs. noon to 6 p.m. At noon, The Cat In the
Hat Visits. At 1 p.m. What's Toxic What's Not: Know Your Risk-Safeguard Your
Home; Dr. Gary Ginsberg and Brian Toal, M.S.P.H., authors of What's Toxic
What's Not, will talk about the potentially harmful toxins in our homes and
workplaces. At 2 p.m. Andrew Sholdudko, singer, songwriter. At 3 p.m. Living
Off the Grid, Baron Wormser, author of The Road Washes Out in Spring: A
Poet's Memoir of Living Off the Grid.

April 23, 2007. UConn Co-op - Sustainable Living Book Fair and Conference.
University of Connecticut, Storrs, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Eco Huskies and the Office of Environmental Policy will have free bike
tune-ups, hybrid, electric and grease cars, information on water usage with
pyramids of water, Mt. Sneaker, a piece of green roof and more. Visit their
outdoor displays on Fairfield Way and the surrounding areas. At 1 p.m,
Serving Up the Harvest - Cookbook author Andrea Chesman offers advice and
inspiration to all who want to enjoy fresh, local, seasonal vegetables with
every meal with tips from her book, Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the
Goodness of Fresh Vegetables. From 2 to 4 p.m., Turn Old Paper Into New: The
Pleasures of Hand Made Paper At 6 p.m. - Community Supported Energy - Greg
Pahl, author of The Citizen Powered Energy Handbook: Community Solutions to
a Global Crisis

April 24. UConn Co-op - Sustainable Living Book Fair and Conference.
University of Connecticut, Storrs. 2 p.m. Building with Awareness: The
Construction of a hybrid home, award winning video on building a straw bale
solar home. 3 p.m. Virginia Walton: Town of Mansfield Recycling Manager

Sunday, May 6. "Green Sunday - A Sustainable Living Festival" at the
Unitarian Universalist Society , 20 Forest St., Stamford, 1:30 to 6 p.m.
Learn more about environmental and sustainable living issues. Contact: Janet
Cory, 203-969-7578 or jancory at optonline.net

©The Post 2007


And a few more:

Sat May 5, 9:30 AM - 3 PM: Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration at Andrew Warde
High School, Fairfield. 256-3010, ffldearthday@ aol.com,
http://fairfieldct.org/earthday.htm

Sat May 5, 10 AM - 4 PM: Ridgefield ECOfest, St. Stephen's Church, 351 Main
Street, Ridgefield. http://web.mac.com/ridgefieldecofest

Sun May 20, 11 AM - 5 PM: "Spring into Audubon" A Nature & Recycling
Festival at Greenwich Audubon. http://greenwich.audubon.org