Stephen Vance, Staff
The Municipality of Meaford will once again celebrate Earth Week this year with a range of activities and initiatives that will run from April 22 through to April 30.
Building on the success of the first three years of this initiative, the week is packed full of interesting activities and learning opportunities, all focused on the protection and improvement of our environment.
This year, Earth Week activities begin a little early with a talk by Robert Burcher at the Meaford Museum on Thursday, April 20 at 1 p.m., about famed environmentalist, naturalist, and author John Muir who spent some time in Meaford in his early adulthood.
On Monday, April 24, from 9:30 – 11 a.m. the Golden Town Outreach’s Community Café will host a Nature-Friendly Craft session at the Church of the Nazarene, 34 Trowbridge Street.
A special event for local students will take place at Meaford Hall on Friday, April 28, with a showing of the documentary film All The Time In The World. In search of new perspectives, a family of five leave the comforts of home to live remotely in the Yukon wilderness during the long northern winter. Admission is free for students.
Saturday, April 29 will see the return of the annual tree sale at the Grey Sauble Conservation Administration Centre on Inglis Falls Road. Bring your own containers and fill them up with trees for your home garden. This year they’ll also have native wildflowers on hand that are great for pollinators. The tree sale runs from 8 a.m. until noon.
Also taking place on Saturday, April 29 will be the RE-Use and Eco-Fair at the Meaford & St. Vincent Community Centre beginning at 10 a.m.
The RE-Use Fair is a practical and fun way to support the goal of zero waste in our community. This year’s event is being held on Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Meaford & St. Vincent 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 community. 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 29, where they are packaged and picked up by the receiving groups.
At the Eco-Fair, eco-friendly vendors will showcase and sell products that are produced from upcycled or recycled materials. Come and find creatively upcycled products or processed products made locally with care of the environment in mind.
The RE-use and Eco-Fair will feature live entertainment, guest speakers, as well as activities for kids.
Wrapping up Earth week on Sunday, April 30, will be two events: a talk by local historian John Harrison about the hidden life of trees, at Christ Church Anglican during their 10:30 a.m. service, and the annual Memorial Park Clean-up sponsored by The Meaford Independent.
For the seventh year in a row, The Meaford Independent is once again hosting the annual Memorial Park Clean-up from 1 – 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 30. Come and join us in the annual spring clean-up of Memorial Park. Bags and plastic gloves are provided. At 1 p.m. sharp there is a short safety briefing. Refreshments are provided by The Meaford Independent. Young children should bring along an adult.
You can find a full listing of Earth Week events by visiting meaford.ca/earthweek.
