White Plains Earth Week 2012 to Kick Off April 16
White Plains Earth Week was established in 2011 as an outgrowth of White Plains SEEC (Sustainability and Environmental Enhancement Committee) to provide a week-long series of events and programs around Earth Day to advance the importance of green living and sustainability among members of the city’s residential and business communities. This year’s celebration begins Monday, April 16, with a ribbon cutting and tree planting at city hall and ends the following Sunday, April 22, with programs and workshops geared for people of all ages.
Saturday, April 21, from noon to 4:00 p.m., downtown White Plains along Mamaroneck Avenue between Martine Avenue and Main Street, will be the site of the biggest event of Earth Week. This Earth Day Celebration: Celebrating all things green and sustainable, will include a street fair of vendors showcasing green solutions and products, children’s activities and performances by Bash the Trash, Solar Punch and Esteban Rivera. Electronic and alternative fueled vehicles such as the Chevy Volt, Ford Transit, Nissan Leaf, and others will be on display. Mayor Tom Roach will also launch the Mayor’s Animal Action Network, a compassion for animals adoption event with ten shelters and rescues represented.
Mayor Thomas Roach told the White Plains Examiner: “I’m excited about the 2012 White Plains Earth Week which offers a diversity of events focused on those green themes particularly important to my administration. This year we’ve added three exciting components: An Electric Vehicle Showcase which displays current EV models, the Renewable Energy Expo exploring various energy alternatives for residences and businesses and the launch of the Mayor’s Animal Action Network which is really a countywide coalition of animal organizations dedicated to the no kill movement and pet rescue. We welcome White Plains residents and people from throughout Westchester to join us in celebrating all things green.”
Featured events as the week unfolds include a screening of the film “Bag it!” Monday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the White Plains Public Library auditorium. This film follows everyman Jeb Berrier who decides to take a look at Americans’ cultural love affair with plastic, in particular the 60,000 single-use plastic bags that are used every five minutes and then mindlessly thrown away.
Tuesday, April 17 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. the Renewable Energy Expo at Renaissance Plaza at Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue, will showcase different renewable energy solutions and how they can help residents and business owners save money. Folk singer Mark Rust will perform from 12 Noon to 2:00 p.m. This event is sponsored by OnForce Solar Energy Company. Presenters include American DG Energy (cogeneration services), Urban Green Energy (wind provider), APEX Thermal Services (thermal services), Plymouth Rock Energy (ESCO), Sema Connect (EV charging station).
Tickets are available for a screening of “Revenge of the Electric Car” by writer and director Chris Paine on Wednesday, April 18 at City Center15: Cinema De Lux. This documentary follows major auto distributors behind closed doors to chronicle the global resurgence of electric cars and follows the race to be the first and the best. The movie screening begins at 7:00 p.m. and is followed at 8:30 p.m. by a Q&A with the director. Tickets are $25. A VIP ticket for $50 includes a cocktail reception at 9:00 p.m., reserved seating, and a name listing in the program book.
A Sustainable Local Food and Healthy Food Forum will be held Thursday, April 19 starting at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Israel Center at 280 Old Mamaroneck Road in White Plains. From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. there will be a Sustainable Local Food Expo. At 7:30 p.m. keynote speaker Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountainkeeper, will present Foodshed State of the State: Growing Concerns. He will be followed at 8:30 p.m. by a sustainability panel, Voices of the Field. This event is hosted by Hazon CSA of White Plains and Stoneledge Farm CSA of White Plains (Community Supported Agriculture).
Good Counsel Academy Elementary School, located at 52 North Broadway in White Plains, offers a tour of their Exploration Garden from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Friday, April 20. The garden, in its creation stage, will host native plantings including flowers, vegetables, herbs, and a place for butterflies. Students will be out working in the garden that day. If raining, visitors can see what’s sprouting in the indoor greenhouses.
Programs offered on the last day of Earth Week, Sunday, April 22, include a 9:00 a.m. to Noon clean-up at Delfino Park, Gillie Park and Greenway, and Gardella Park. Volunteers will be provided with refuse bags and disposable gloves. Registration will take place onsite at each location.
At 11:00 a.m. you can brush up on recycling skills at the Gedney Recycling Yard. Visit the TILI (Take It or Leave It) shed and hear a presentation by Department of Public Works Commissioner Bud Nicoletti.
At 2:00 p.m. White Plains Public Library will celebrate Earth Day in the Trove with songs, stories and snacks for children ages 3+ years and their families, as well as a drop-in collage workshop with Michael Albert, known for his cubist mosaic cereal-box collages.
White Plains Earth Week is sponsored by The City of White Plains, White Plains Business Improvement District, OnForce Solar, Reckson and Zip Car. Partners include Barnes & Noble, Bright Energy Services, Clean Cities, federal Conservationists of Westchester County, Inc., and Mayor’s Animal Action Network.
For more information visit WPBID.com or call (914) 328-5166.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.