Essex County Residents Enjoy 13th Annual Earth Day Event
ROSELAND, NJ — The weather held up to inspire hundreds of Essex County families to participate in the 13 annual Essex County Earth Day Celebration at the Essex County Environmental Center last weekend in Roseland, where residents had the opportunity to participate in hands-on educational games and activities, canoe trips, bird walks, environmental information booths, enjoy live nature-themed music and shop in an eco-market.
Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Jr. said the annual event is a great opportunity for area residents to “learn how they can interact with nature and become better environmental stewards.”
“Earth Day gives us a special time to appreciate our world and reminds us of the importance of keeping our air and water clean,” he said. “Working together, we can help keep Essex County green.”
The Environmental Center staff worked with partner agencies to present an Earth Day event that appealed to all ages, with nature and bird-watching hikes led by NJ Audubon; demonstrations by the New Jersey Woodturners on how art is created from found pieces of wood and fallen tree branches; educational sessions on ways to protect the environment; and canoe rides on the Passaic River throughout the day. The 4-H Club presented its annual fair alongside a local eco-vendor’s sale, and Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, Rizzo’s Wildlife World and Oceans Rock Exhibit also gave presentations at the event.
“I think it’s amazing that all these people come out to support the Environmental Center,” said Jennifer Duckworth, co-chair of the Essex County Environmental Commission. “Essex County does a great job with bringing people in for environmental purposes and the Environmental Center has such great programs and does a great job educating people about the importance of being green and choosing different alternatives. There are many different options for people to learn about, like my electric car, to make their world more green.”
For the third year, Duckworth was on hand showing her electric car, a Tesla Model S 70D with a 250 miles-per-gallon range. The car was one of the hits of the event, with kids lining up to take pictures and tour the inside while their parents asked Duckworth questions about the vehicle.
“It’s all electric—I plug it into my house and so I never have to go to the gas station,” she said. “People are definitely interested. They know that there’s a buzz around electric vehicles, so I really love talking to people about it and getting them excited about alternative-fueled vehicles.”
The event was sponsored by PSEG, Whole Foods, Rezza Trattoria e Pizza Romana in Roseland, Covanta, Aramark and NJ Clean Communities.
Sobel & Co, a full-service accounting firm in Livingston specializing in family business and not-for-profits, is the proud sponsor of the Essex County News section of TAPintoLivingston.net and TAPintoWestEssex.net. For more information, visit the Sobel & Co., LLC website.
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