Village to celebrate Earth Day April 19

There will be live music in Fountain Park as part of Mount Kisco’s Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 19. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

Local communities across Westchester and throughout the U.S. have commemorated Earth Day every April since the first time it was celebrated in 1970 to emphasize the importance of protecting natural resources.

This year, Mount Kisco will recognize the day by holding a variety of fun and educational events connected to the celebration Sunday, April 19, inside the public library and outside at Fountain Park. Organized by the village’s Conservation Advisory Council, there will be live music, eco-friendly family activities and more than a dozen informational and activity tables offering expert advice on gardening and other topics.

There will also be a chance for visitors to share ideas. One event will be a Nature/History Stream Stroll along the nearby Branch Brook, led by Trail Team Chair Harry McCartney. Meanwhile, plans for musical entertainment were being finalized this week.

“In order to make it an interesting and exciting day, we’ve gotten various local organizations to take on a task and to see what they can do to bring joy and make it a great, fun event,” said Shonan Noronha, lead organizer of the village’s Conservation Advisory Council’s Tribute to Trees art exhibition at the library.  

Steve Ricker, director of conservation and general manager at nearby Westmoreland Sanctuary, will be the keynote speaker. He will talk about the features of the local environment and how it can be preserved for future generations.

One emphasis will focus on how people can take steps in their daily routines to protect the environment.

“We want to enable people to take simple, easy actions to save our village and our planet,” said Conservation Advisory Council member John Rhodes, a former chairman of the group. “We’ll be giving away native flower seeds, and every family can leave with a free baby tree or shrub to plant near their home.” 

Part of the Earth Day program will be a screening of the full-length documentary “Wasted! The Story of Food Waste” in the library’s upstairs community room at 2 p.m. The 2017 film, co-directed by Anna Chai and Nari Kye with the late Anthony Bourdain as the executive producer, highlights how more than one billion pounds of food gets thrown out each year worldwide and what famous chefs and communities can do to limit that waste. 

At the same time, the library will hold an art workshop titled “Inspired by Nature” in the children’s area.

Then there is the ninth annual Tribute to Trees exhibit that was hung in the community room last weekend and will be available for viewing through April 26. It consists of paintings, collages and sculptures from more than 100 local children.

Noronha said that one local student, Alex Nagel, always wanted a treehouse and loves to play with Legos. He put together those interests and built a Lego treehouse. Also, part of the exhibit is a depiction of trees during the four seasons.

The importance of learning the importance of trees, wetlands and other natural resources is critical from a young age, Noronha said.

“The program is not just to create art, but we worked with the teachers starting in January, to help them understand that when they have discussions with kids about the value of trees, then children get information that will last them for a lifetime,” Noronha said. “If you get them to think what does the tree do for you, they begin to realize the value of trees.”

The celebration is scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and all activities are free. There is also free parking on Sundays in the village’s municipal lots as well as on the street.

The Mount Kisco Public Library is located at 100 East Main St., Mount Kisco. For more information about Mount Kisco’s Earth Day celebration, email EarthDayMK@gmail.com.