The library is hosting an Earth Day Fair on April 22 beginning at 11 a.m. There is an amazing lineup of events scheduled for the day for both adults and children. There will be giveaways, organic food, an organic coffee bar, a carbon footprint quiz and a raffle to win either a backyard composter bin or a rain barrel, both donated personally by Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Dina M. DeGiorgio.
There will be a bike safety workshop from 4 to 7 p.m. A police officer from the Port Washington Police District will be on hand to discuss bike safety and a representative from a local bike shop will be on hand to do safety checks and make small repairs on bikes. Residents are invited to bring their bikes to get a safety check on their bike and helmet outside the library.
The library will be collecting, on April 22 only, small ewaste, such as cell phones. Nothing larger than a toaster will be accepted. There will be a receptacle in the lobby to deposit the items.
“There will be two pledge trees, where people can pledge to walk more and drive less,” said committee co-chair and former member of Green Peace Jeff Zeh. There will be activities to learn about Earth Day around the globe. There will be a panel of experts conducting discussions about how green Port Washington is and what can be done to make it greener, water quality, energy efficiency, among other topics. Many different Port Washington agencies and organizations will be participating.
Denise Anchico, committee co-chair and librarian, said, “the idea for the event came about after some library staff marched in the People’s Climate March 2014 in New York City. A theme of the march was to take ideas back to our community. So that’s what we did. Port is a fairly green community and people in town make an effort to be sustainable, but maybe we can do it better.”
Members of the Earth Day Fair planning committee include Jeff Zeh, co-chair, library media technician and former Green Peace member, Jason Schaefer, co-chair and library computer center aide, Denise Anchico, co-chair and librarian, Margaret DeSiervo, Friends of the Library board member, Charlie DeSiervo, master composter and library volunteer, AnneMarie Ansel, Green Sanctuary of UUCSR, Jennifer Wilson-Pines, legislative aide to Legislator Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Phyllis Sickerman, ESOL tutor, Jordis Herman, ESOL volunteer and Patti Paris, librarian. The fair was made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Library (FOL), as well as the library’s Children’s, Health and Nautical Advisory Councils, which receive funding from the Port Washington Library Foundation. To volunteer at the event, email earthdayfair@pwpl.org.
