By Pauline Benetti
Special to The PREVIEW
Saturday is the big day — the Earth Day Fair — from 1 to 4 p.m. at the PLPOA Clubhouse and grounds, with food, music, community and an array of interesting and educational displays by our local folks who are promoting some aspect of planet safety.
Here are just a few groups you can learn about and support — Audubon, Southwest Organization for Sustainability (SOS), Time Bank, Chimney Rock, Humane Society, Pagosa Peak Open School, San Juan Basin Public Health and more. Plants will be given away by the Geothermal Greenhouse Partnership (GGP) and Pagosa Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship children.
Fun for kids will be found at the U.S. Forest Service table and with the rock and giant bubbles activities. Also importantly, there will be the opportunity to recycle electronics. Please check the fee schedule on sospagosa.org.
There is more today. Don’t miss the Lifelong Learning series this afternoon at 5 p.m. at the Ruby M. Sisson Memorial Library featuring La Plata Electric Association’s (LPEA) Dan Harms and Dominic May on beneficial electrification and how to achieve LPEA’s carbon footprint-reduction goal. This is important information for all of us as members of the LPEA co-op.
Tomorrow, Friday, there are activities for kids and adults. Kids need to be at Yamaguchi Park at 10 a.m. to help with tree planting by Town of Pagosa Springs invitation. And adults can attend a presentation by Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS) Ambassador Renia Pruchnicki, who will give a virtual presentation about MAPS, a treaty proposed before the United Nations that declares the Arctic Ocean north of the Arctic Circle an international peace park, free from exploitation of all kinds, in perpetuity. This is offered by Pagosa UU Fellowship at Unit 15, Greenbriar Plaza Fellowship at 6 p.m.
April has been replete with activities celebrating this eighth anniversary of Earth Day Week in Pagosa Springs. The Colorado Environmental Film Festival sponsored by the GGP; the Garden Expo sponsored by the Mountain High Garden Club and the week of activities involving many segments of our community which began with the SOS free screening of “Racing Extinction” in support of the 2019 Earth Day theme — “Protect Our Species” — and will end with the SOS-sponsored Earth Day Fair.
Next year, 2020, will mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Plans are starting now to make that celebration even bigger and better, as you can see on www.earthday.org. Contact Holly Metzler at pagosa100percent@gmail.com with questions.
