Staff
The cornerstone event for Earth Week, the RE-Use & ECO-Fair, will be held on Saturday, April 23, from 9 am to 3 pm at the Meaford & St Vincent (MSV) Community Centre.
The re-use portion of the Fair is an organized exchange of goods that keep ‘too good to be through’ items circulating in the community, and it all starts with the wish list.
Local charities, non-profits, artisans, schools, and faith-based groups request items via a Wish list. Citizens then bring the wished-for items to the MSV Community Centre on April 23, where they are packaged and picked up by the receiving groups.
“Last year 1,791 pounds of goods changed hands – an increase from 2014. We’re hoping to top that record this year,” commented Lindy Iversen, one of the volunteer organizers.
The deadline for submitting a wish list is March 18. The wish list form can be found at www.meaford.ca/earthweek. The March 18th deadline date allows time to publicize the combined wish lists to the greater community. Completed forms can be dropped off at the Meaford Hall Box Office, or e-mailed to lindy2004@sympatico.ca.
The success of the re-use portion of the event rests not only on groups that put in a list of needed items, but also on the volunteers who offer their time on the day of the fair to help sort, package, and weigh the goods.
“We actually never know until the day of the fair if we’ll have the volunteers required to help ensure the success of the day. For the past two years, we’ve been grateful to all the volunteers who were so committed to the event,” says Meaford Councillor Jaden Calvert, one of the volunteer organizers.
In 2014 the Municipality of Meaford embraced Earth Week because it offered a natural and productive community partnership that is at the heart of one of the Municipality’s Strategic Priorities – to “Strive towards a zero-waste economy and continue to be a leader in waste diversion through education and improved waste services.” The RE-Use & ECO-Fair certainly is an important piece of this collective challenge.
For detailed information on all of the Earth Week celebrations, visit www.meaford.ca/earthweek. Visitors to the site will find the wish list form, and the Earth Week 2016 brochure listing all of the events happening in our community.
Plan to be part of the community effort. Help celebrate Earth Week in a practical and fun way as we move towards a zero-waste, sharing culture.
