Due to the ongoing situation with coronavirus and COVID-19, we regret to say that Earth Festival 2020 will not take place as a face-to-face event. But that does not mean it’s off! Instead, Earth Festival will now be an online event taking place over several days, which will include webinars, digital “coffee talks”, demonstrations, and a scavenger hunt. Activities will be focused around Earth Festival’s 2020 theme, Reduce. Please see below for the schedule and how to participate. All programs are free and open to all.
April 17, Slogs Through Bogs: Beauty, Loss, and Preservation. As Earth Festival traditionally kicks off with a bird walk led by Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society, DOAS starts our digital Earth Festival begins with a presentation by local botanist (and OCCA board member), Dr. Donna Vogler. This program will feature the amazing life found in our local bogs. This program will take place at 7:30pm. Details and registration information will be available at www.doas.us.
April 18, Reducing Energy Webinar. Representatives from Heat Smart Otsego and Delaware River Solar present a variety of ways to save energy in your home. This program will take place at 2pm via Zoom. Register here.
April 19, Coffee Talk: Reducing Solid Waste. OCCA Executive Director, Amy Wyant hosts this chat with local officials and business representatives sharing tips on how to reduce our output of solid waste and how to keep recycling during a pandemic. This Zoom meeting begins at 10:30am. Register here.
April 20, Reducing Food Waste and Grocery Bills. This dinner hour program will include fantastic information on how to reduce food waste, and through creative use of leftovers and odd parts. This will be an interactive program, so be ready to join in with your ideas. We are even planning a kitchen demo from a chef! This Zoom event begins at 6pm. Please register here.
April 21, Get Outside: Reduce Your Stress Scavenger Hunt. Enjoy the outdoors (safely) in this all-day digital scavenger hunt. Download the list, head outside (safely) and post your findings. Be sure to tag us using @OCCAINFO and #EarthFestival2020. Have fun! And while you’re out there, don’t forget about Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society’s Gone Birding Scavenger Hunt! Double your fun!
April 22, Earth Day: The Bigger Picture. In partnership with the Choose Clean Water Coalition and the Upper Susquehanna Coalition, we’ll cover a variety of topics related to our place in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. In addition, we’ll highlight digital Earth Day events happening all over the globe for you to participate in! Register here for this event, which begins at 10am.
Digital Webinar: Gardening in a Warming World. Ashley M. Helmholdt, Extension Associate, Cornell Garden-Based Learning Program leads this webinar, which aims to inspire us to take actions in our gardens and communities to help address the global crisis of climate change. Co-sponsored by CCE Otsego Master Gardeners. Register here for this free Zoom event, which runs from 2-3pm.
April 23: Complete Streets. Maureen Blanchard will discuss Complete Streets–a design system that provides for safe streets for all users. Maureen will cover what Complete Streets is all about, why it is important, and what resources are available to municipalities to help them. This Zoom meeting will take place from 11am-noon. Join the meeting here.
Other Earth Day Events
OCCA isn’t the only organization celebrating Earth Day! Check out the great events below:
April 22: Virtual Advocacy Day. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, Environmental Advocates of New York is co-sponsoring Virtual Advocacy Day with a broad group of environmental organizations from 12:45-2:10pm. Be part of a virtual news conference and live meetings with New York State policy leaders and advocates. Register here.
April 22: Virtual Earth Day Celebration. Our friends at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay are holding a day long series of activities including a film festival! Check them out here for a listing of the day’s events!
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Help us keep our work going
Just as it has for you, life has changed drastically for OCCA. The traditional way we have done our work–face-to-face, in public, at events like Earth Festival–has drastically changed. As we adjust to the new reality and try to pivot to a new way of carrying out our mission, we also face the reality of shifting priorities and needs of our donors, and uncertainty as grant monies are being re-routed from the environment to fight COVID-19.
Though we are all facing new challenges, the environment and protection of it is as necessary as ever. We need your help to continue the fight and to create experiences that can educate, inform, and engage our community as we all make our way through these inconstant times.
If you are able, we would appreciate any donation you can make to help keep our mission moving. Please consider making a donation so that we can continue working on behalf of the environment and creating informative programs that can bring us together in a world of social distancing. To do so, make an online donation here.
Thank you again for helping us keep the future of Environmental Conservation, Education, and Protection alive.
2020 Earth Festival Planning Committee
Amy Wyant Jeff O’Handley
Eamonn Hinchey Monica Coville
Martha Clarvoe Ellen Pope
Flo Loomis
2020 Vendors and Exhibitors
Otsego County Conservation Association ♦ Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society ♦ Heat Smart Otsego ♦ CCE Otsego Master Gardeners ♦ CRISP Watershed Steward Program ♦ Otsego ReUse Center ♦ Granola Girl Beeswax Food Wraps ♦ Delaware River Solar ♦ Hare & Feather Farm ♦ Norwex, Sherry LaRose ♦ Richfield Springs Community Food Coop ♦ Otsego County Planning & Solid Waste Department ♦ Lori Henry
Lunch Provided By
TBD
2020 Donors and Sponsors
Earth Festival would not be possible without the generosity of our community. OCCA and the Earth Festival Planning Committee are grateful to the following individuals, businesses, and organizations for their support.
♦ Casella Waste Systems, Inc. ♦ Empire Recycling Corporation ♦ Delaware River Solar ♦ Richfield Springs Community Food Coop ♦ Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society ♦ CCE Otsego Master Gardeners ♦ Martha & Paul Clarvoe ♦ Sherry LaRose, Norwex
Photos of Past Earth Festivals
