The Newtown Theatre will host an Earth Day event on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., one of more than 30 events taking place across Bucks County.
“Newtown Township is delighted to be one of the partners participating in this year’s Earth Day event at the Newtown Theatre,” said Newtown Township Supervisor Elen Snyder. “All great journeys begin with a single step and Newtown has done just that by working on multiple projects for a sustainable future. We invite everyone to travel this path for the good of the planet.”
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Following several short documentaries including “Wild in the Garden State,” a film that highlights a New Jersey couple choosing to cultivate an ecological garden over the traditional suburban lawn, WHYY’s Marty Moss-Coane will moderate a panel discussion designed to improve the well-being of local homes, towns, and the planet.
Panel topics include Re-Wilding Your Backyard, Becoming a Greener Consumer, Shifting to Renewable Energy and Greening Your Food Dollars.
“Everyone has a part to play,” said Alisa Shargorodsky, founder and CEO of ECHO Systems and a panelist at the event. “It makes you feel empowered to take care of this world and steward it instead of feeling like I can make no changes.” Shargorodsky’s company, ECHO Systems, partners with local businesses and area residents with the goal of eliminating single use waste.
“I hope they’re inspired to eat locally grown, Bucks County grown, organically grown food,” said panelist Robin Hoy when asked what she hopes attendees will take away from the event. Hoy, who wears many hats, is the co-founder and treasurer of the Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, founder of the Wrightstown Farmers Market, and co-chair of the Wrightstown Township Environmental Advisory Council.
An authority on local farms, locally grown foods and expanding sustainably, Hoy’s expertise encompasses preserving the planet from multiple fronts, including animal welfare concerns, that have an impact on the environment. Grass raised cattle, she explained, benefits the animal and the planet. “Grazing sequesters more carbon than the cattle give off in methane,” she said.
Additional panelists include environmental experts Phil Coleman, president of aFewSteps.org, Faran Savitz from PennEnvironment, and Mary Anne Borge, a naturalist and instructor at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve.
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The humble beginnings of Earth Day, now in its 53rd year and celebrated globally, inspired the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with the passage of several critical pieces of legislation including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
Partners and sponsors of the event include: Newtown Township, The Borough of Newtown, Wrightstown Township Environmental Advisory Council, Bucks County Audubon Society at Honey Hollow, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, Bucks County Foodshed Alliance, Wrightstown Farmers Market, Bucks County Ready for 100, The Heritage Conservancy, and PennEnvironment.
To buy tickets or for additional information about the event, visit the Newtown Theatre website.
