Schools

Moms Q & A: Is it Easy Being Green?

Moms Q & A joined the 500 million and more to look at what it means to be green.

 Across the country tens of millions of school children are taught the error of our environmental ways as part of their education, and on April 22, many of those same children will celebrate Earth Day in school and elsewhere.

 Patch took to the Danbury Fair Mall to interview families are who are doing their part to protect the earth for future generations.

Gina Nicholas, a working mother of two from Bethel, said that many people believe that doing just a little doesn't matter. Her advice was, “Even the least bit that you do counts.” Nicholas described her family's efforts. “We have always recycled, and we reuse plastic bottles and refill them with water.”

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 Many of the efforts for the environment originate in schools and Ridgefield librarian Jerry Sulli takes recycling to the hilt, and saves a lot of money by doing so. “My wife has a garden, so we compost,” he said. “We also have a catalytic converter and it converts the smoke from our wood burning stove. The smoke comes out white, not grey, and it doesn't smell. The cost savings this winter over using oil were unbelievable. We heated the house for $500 for the whole winter.”

 Ridgefield School celebrates Earth Day, which made Sulli aware of the importance of reducing his family's environmental footprint for a very important reason. He said, “We need to protect the environment for our children.”

Find out what's happening in Danburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 Not everyone takes the environment personally. Cheryl Crnecki of Danbury said, “I recycle because I have to.”

 This being vacation week, the mall was awash with moms and their children. In every case, the children had good reasons for being a part of the Green Machine. When mom Fernanda Pesarimi said, “We recycle to save the earth,” her daughter Anna Clara Pesarimi agreed.

 There is a rumor that recycling takes too much time out of one's day, but if Sahar Saad, with her passel of five kids including one who is handicapped, can manage it, anyone can. Sahar Saad's daughter, Nancy Saad said, “We recycle at home, we reuse paper. Because of Earth Day we will take our cans and bottles to school to recycle there.”

 Earth day is on the Danbury High School calendar, but alas, school is out. Last year, Broadview Middle School celebrated Earth Day by cleaning up the playground and this year, they raised money for science with the consignment shop, Once Upon a Child, by holding a clothing recycling project.  DAWS, Danbury's Animal Shelter, will be celebrating in Ridgefield.

Depending on the source,  anywhere from 500 million to 1 billion people throughout the world will also be celebrating Earth Day. 

 Where is Danbury's Earth Day Celebration? And what better opportunity to welcome spring than a festival featuring music, art shows, ecology activities for kids, and even movies? 

 Ecologists know that taking care of the earth is taking care of ourselves. Vice versa, not taking care of the earth could have us doomed in just a few decades, and that is according to both scientists and philosophers.  A movie called “2012, Time for Change”  explains the hype about the world coming to an end and just exactly what the Mayan calendar is all about. In that film, the end of the world in 2012 is about ecology, and that we can begin to reverse our ecological self-destruction with just a little effort.  (Not a movie for kids.)

A class offered in January on generating electricity through the use of solar panels at the new Danbury downtown campus of the Naugutuck Valley Community College offered scads of good information. Patch ran the story, "Going Green Classes Teach Homeowners How to Save Big."  Click here to read that article.

If you are thinking you would like to deepen your commitment to making the world a better place for your children and grandchildren, here are some more great events coming up soon:

Earth Day at the Animal Fair in Ridgefield: http://www.daws.org/events/earth-day-animal-fair

These next two events are supported by the Department of Environmental Protection:

Pratt Nature Center Earth Day in New Milford, Saturday April 23:

Sponsored by Pratt Nature Center, Connecticut Community Foundation, Union Savings Bank Foundation
Conservation, Workshops, Reptile Presentations, Interactive Sculpture, Gardening, Composting, Nature/History Walks and the Earth Day Challenge.  Join us for a fun filled day!! 
Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: Pratt Nature Center, 163 Papermill Road, New Milford, CT 06776
Other Event Information: Free Community Event. 

Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration, Fairfield, April 30 - Sponsored by Town of Fairfield
A Free Family Event! Rain or Shine. Plenty of samples. Learn about organic food, home & school gardens, green building, energy technologies, conservation, Green products, etc. Enjoy Music, Magic, activities for kids, a Trashy Fashions Show and a green Auto show. Recycling! Great food! More information on web site.
Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Location: 755 Melville Avenue, Fairfield, CT 06824
Other Event Information: Please see web site @ www.fairfieldearthday.org Contact: Larry Kaley (203) 255-4132 or Ffldearthday@aol.com


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