The Town of Chapel Hill to Celebrate Earth Action Day

Celebrate sustainable living, at the third annual Earth Action Day presented by the Town of Chapel Hill, The Shops at Eastgate, Briar Chapel, WCHL, and The Chapel Hill Herald. The free event from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 10, will be held at Southern Community Park off U.S. 15-501 near Southern Village.

Free shuttle service to the park is presented by the Shops at Eastgate. Get on the bus at Eastgate….it’s easy! The route from Noon-5pm  includes stops at The Shops at Eastgate, University Mall, Downtown Chapel Hill, and the UNC Campus Credit Union. For more information on routes and schedules, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/earthday.

Live entertainment will include the Paperhand Puppet Intervention, the Sacrificial Poets, and the Youth Performing Arts Conservatory.  The food pavilion is known to feature the work of local chefs prepared with methods and ingredients that respect the environment and the hands that grow.  There also will be hands-on activities for adults and children.

The event also features Swap-O-Rama-Rama, a clothing swap with a series of do-it-yourself workshops, sewing and screen printing stations to transform unwanted clothing into creative wearable art. Additional programs will discuss how to make household cleaners, home composting, and creating art from recycled materials.

Works by local artists will be featured at the park. Public Arts administrator Jeff York has invited Artists Emily Eve Weinstein and Dale Morgan with the help of a dozen volunteers created the landscape mural to memorialize the natural beauty of the Bolin Creek corridor as a reminder of the importance of its preservation. Also take a guided tour of the park's Elemental Landscape art installations, with free guided tours noon-4pm as part of Earth Action Day.

The Town of Chapel Hill’s Stormwater Management Division is sponsoring rain barrels at truckload prices. Buy barrels at the festival or pre-purchase them online at www.townofchapelhill.org/earthday. Pick-up will be between noon and 5 p.m. on April 10.

Outdoor celebrations like Earth Action Day typically require a considerable amount of energy to produce.  The Town has partnered with Solar Tech South to eliminate the use of diesel powered generators. Instead, the event will use 100% solar electricity.

“We’ve come a long way, and 10 years ago an outdoor production like this would have left a huge carbon footprint,” said Wes Tilghman, Chapel Hill’s community celebrations supervisor. “But we realize that we need to be mindful of the environment at every event and rethink how we are using resources.”

The Town is working together with Orange County Solid Waste Management to draft guidelines for composting, recycling and energy use that will apply to all Town sponsored events. These efforts toward sustainability are just one of many ways the Town of Chapel Hill is working to reduce carbon emissions. Nominated as a Sierra Club “Cool City” by the U.S. Council of Mayors, Chapel Hill has joined the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by the year 2050.

Be a part of this fun and enriching experience by volunteering at the event. Volunteers play a central role in making these events possible, all the while enhancing community pride. To get involved, contact Natasha Wayne, nwayne@townofchapelhill.org, or 919-968-2829

For more information about Earth Action Day, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/earthday or call (919) 968-2829. To learn more about Chapel Hill’s sustainability efforts, visit www.townofchapelhill.org/greencity.

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