Earth Festival Draws Sizeable Crowds, Teaches Powerful Lessons

By BILL BELLEN
MILFORD

Earth Day being this past Tuesday, April 22, messages of planetary preservation and ecological education have been at the forefront of public discussion. With these sentiments in mind, numerous environmental awareness events were held throughout the state, with Otsego County having its own stake in these celebrations in the form of Earth Festival on Saturday, April 26. The event was organized by the Otsego County Conservation Association from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a stall-based component located in the Anton Remy Gymnasium at Milford Central School and a recycling drop-off at nearby Wilber Park.

In the lead-up to the event’s kick off, Shelby MacLeish, OCCA assistant director, said, “Truthfully, I’m just looking forward to realizing the whole day. It’s been a long time organizing it, so I like to see how all of the different aspects come together. Seeing all of the environmental organizations in one place, seeing people from all over the county, talking to them, enjoying the day … It’s nice to see. It’s like a big thing come together.”

The day started out rather grim, with cloudy skies and pouring rain, but the foul weather did not stop the initial crowds from gathering—the school’s parking lot was overflowing by 10:30 a.m. Attendance fluctuated throughout the day, with both the event on school grounds and the recycling drop-off seeing solid foot traffic and vehicular traffic, respectively.

“Despite the rain, we have had a good turnout for the recycling event. The cars have been steady all along. We’ve got shredding, we’ve got Styrofoam, we’ve got textiles, and a whole bunch of what I would call ‘small bits’… For the most part, people have been really accommodating, despite the tight quarters and the rain,” said OCCA President Donna Vogler with regard to the impact the weather had on the recycling event.

Back on school grounds, visitors of all ages flowed from stand to stand, learning about a variety of topics honing in on educating Otsego County citizens on the environment around them. Displays ranged from those focusing on aquatic life, to terrestrial plants of our region, to a number of different species of birds.

Charley Koop, a master falconer and wildlife rehabilitator, hosted an exhibit offering information about the wildlife rehabilitation center he is a part of, while offering a first-hand taste of his falconry skills with a bird of prey present on his arm at all times.

“A lot of the birds [and] animals that we get in are either sick or injured,” Koop said. “We go ahead and take care of whatever we can and try to nurse them back to health and make sure that they’re ready to be released back to the wild, and able to sustain themselves out in the wild. So if we get something in that’s injured, but it needs to be worked on through therapy, then we go ahead and we seek out what those particular needs are in order to be able to get that problem solved so that animal can go ahead and be released back to the wild.”

Only a few strides away, one could find stands full of youthful enthusiasm and environmental consciousness. Cooperstown’s Origins Cafe sponsored a stand run by their Growing Leaders group, a troop of young girls that meet weekly to bake and grow plants. These passions were shared with visitors to their stand, as they produced delectable chocolate beet cakes, snickerdoodles, and plants for small fees that will directly support their after-school program on Thursdays at Cooperstown Central School.

Nearby, the Caring for Plants and Animals class, taught by Brekke Holub at Milford, ran a stand selling cuttings the class has cultivated throughout the school year. They used the opportunity to help support the program and raise awareness of the qualities of plant care its students uphold.

Katelyn Smith, a freshman at Milford, described what the class entails.

“You participate and help keep the plants and the fish alive, and essentially, it’s a very calming class as well … I barely knew anything about plants when I began the class. But, after learning a few things about the plants, it made me realize how intricate each plant is,” Smith said.

Across the gymnasium, the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society had an important message for hunters, intent on drawing attention to the drastic environmental impacts lead ammunition is having on environmental and public health. DOAS advocates the use of copper ammunition, which does not shatter upon impact and does not poison those who consume it.

“The problem with lead is that, when it hits a deer, it fragments into many, many small pieces,” said DOAS Co-President Andy Mason. “A piece of lead just the size of a grain of rice can kill a bald eagle. So, if the eagles feed on an injured deer, or on the deer entrails that are often left behind, it can kill an eagle, and there are quite a number of bald eagles that die from lead poisoning each year.”

Overall, Earth Festival was a very insightful and informational experience for those who attended. Between the numerous exhibitors filling the gymnasium wall to wall, to the experiences throughout the day, such as Dr. Saravanan Thangamani’s “Tick Talk” at 11 a.m., there was never a moment without some activity to do or a new lesson to learn.

Shelby Wing, running the popular stand featuring baby goat yoga, reflected on the event.

“I always love that everybody that approaches you smiles … and everybody here is smiling to begin with and it just kind of brings it all together,” Wing said.

Public reception seemed quite positive, with the sky itself even shining its favor upon the event following a break in the clouds at noon. Though the efforts of Earth Festival were certainly rewarded, they are just one part of an ongoing effort by OCCA to better Otsego County’s ecosystem and continually raise awareness of issues they believe deserve attention.

“We do probably 10-plus volunteer programs every year. River cleanups, highway cleanups. We monitor water quality,” said Kendall Jacob, volunteer coordinator at OCCA. “We’re always looking for volunteers, and I feel like we have opportunities, basically, for everybody. We’re trying to make it easy to volunteer, depending on if you’re a part-time resident or a full-time resident, or only have four hours a month or 15 hours a month to give. We’re trying to give opportunities to all to get involved and become a bigger part of the community.”

With this year’s Earth Festival now behind the organization, residents can expect OCCA’s work to continue throughout the county. And with the knowledge shared from the many vendors and speakers, community members can take action themselves as they continue to share the information they have acquired to further increase environmental awareness.

Those interested in assisting OCCA in its efforts can fill out a volunteer application form at https://www.occainfo.org/volunteer.