Foto Feature: Environmental and community groups link up for Earth Day event all about celebrating and protecting planet
EcoPel, the Junior League of Pelham and several other community organizations—including clubs from Pelham Memorial High School—celebrated Earth Day April 22 in Gazebo Park.
Plum Durham, co-president of Pelham Eliminates Plastic, said, “Pelham Eliminates Plastics has co-hosted the event four times, although not consecutively due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We host the event because it is great to get all of the sustainability groups together.”
PEP is a student-run organization of high school environmentalists dedicated to the elimination of single-use plastics. At the Earth Day event, PEP gave away lemonade in compostable cups, and volunteers were given a reusable water bottle and a sticker.
The PMHS Environmental Science Club painted children’s faces and offered people temporary tattoos. Sweet Lincoln sold ice cream cones, and talented student musicians performed in the gazebo.
The event was attended by local and state politicians as well.
“I love Earth Day,” said State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez. “While you are at work beautifying Pelham, rest assured that we are working to address global issues like climate change, water and air pollution to keep New York healthy.”
“The earth is our most important shared space, and I can think of no better way to celebrate Earth Day than coming together in the park to learn, listen to music, get some free compost and plants and commit ourselves to the work that lies ahead,” said Village of Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen. “Thank you to all the volunteers who organized today’s event and gave us such a wonderful opportunity to enjoy this beautiful spring day together.”
EcoPel, another main organizer of the event, is a local environmental organization founded in 2013. It’s mission is to promote sustainable practices to help Pelham become a cleaner, greener community. EcoPel gave attendees free bags of compost and educated people about the importance of composting and how it relates to climate change. Pelham Healthy Yards sold food scrapping kits for $21 each, gave away wildflowers and sedge, and educated the community about sustainable practices in gardening.
Members of the Junior League helped children make clay balls with soil and wildflower seeds inside to plant in their own gardens.
“We are so glad we can build on the discussions at our Fall Community Roundtable for Sustainability,” said Aileen Dose, president of the Junior League. “We are committed to partnering with community organizations to foster discussions and action on this important issue.”
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Bob Shepherd • May 3, 2023 at 2:27 pm
I and my family enjoyed walking around the stalls and listening to what the local environmentalists young and old had to say. Sadly though, I was personally saddened by the lack of numbers that showed up. Giving out compost is great, but one of the biggest environmental problems in Pelham is engine idling. A vehicle emits far more chemicals when in idle than it does when moving. For example, just sit outside the middle or high school and watch just how many vehicles are sat there for up to 20-40 minutes at a time idling away, while the driver is sat with their nose in a phone…headlights, radio and heater/aircon all on (and that’s in the daylight!)! Not a care in the world for the environment or even for the students who have to walk out of the school and into the localized dangerous air quality. It takes nothing to open vehicle windows in the summer, or put on extra layers in the winter knowing that you’ll be sat static for a while. If I can do it each school day at almost 70yrs old then so can others. Pelham has a long long way to go with regards to looking after our fragile planet. Banning engine idling would be a great start, it’s been illegal in many other countries for years now.