Earth Day: dedicated to planet and its care

When her son was in kindergarten, Deanna Mancuso picked him up from school one day, seeing that he and his classmates carried small paper cups containing sprouting vegetable seedlings.

“One mother took the Dixie cup and said, ‘Wow. I didn’t know they could grow these from seeds anymore,’ ” said Mancuso, director of Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue in Dover Plains, which is hosting a three-day event in honor of Earth Day, which is Friday.

“The biggest thought I have is that as a species, we have to go backwards to go forwards,” Mancuso said. “It means respecting the animals that help you, respecting the land.”

This year, the Earth Day Network reports more than 1 billion people in 192 countries will participate in the world’s most widespread environmental event.

“Earth Day is the largest, most recognizable face of the environmental movement,” Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, said in a released statement. “Millions of people in dozens of different countries will become lifelong environmentalists this and every Earth Day. Hundreds of thousands will be children – our planet’s future. They will join the more than 1 billion people who already use Earth Day to focus on the urgent need to stabilize and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, fight climate change, act locally, become climate voters and protect their children’s futures.”

Locally, Earth Day is being recognized through various events, including Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, which, in conjunction with the national 2016 ASPCA’s Help a Horse Day, is holding Earth Day events from Friday through April 24.

“Earth Day, on the whole, is the planet’s animals and us, as a whole, working together and taking a step back and looking at what we’ve done over the past 100 years,” Mancuso said.

The weekend’s programs at the horse sanctuary include an Earth Day Cleanup & Native American Culture event on Friday, which will feature a barn cleaning and tepee raising, plus sessions on Native American culture, protocols, spirituality, drumming and singing, along with a gathering with White Pine Community Farm in Wingdale.

There also will be a Mustangs & Music benefit on Saturday, including folk music performances by Will Corey and Jay Taylor from Nashville, Tennessee, as well as a peace-pole dedication with flags from nations worldwide, plus food trucks, vendors, a kids’ raffle and other activities. On April 24, an Honor the Earth program is scheduled, including music, a talking circle with Karenna Gore of the Center for Earth Ethics, and more.

Dutchess County Legislator Joel Tyner (D), District 11, along with five other county legislators, several area teachers and others, is co-sponsoring an Earth Day essay and art/poetry/music contest plus rally at Rhinebeck’s town hall on Saturday. In all, the day will focus on environmental toxins, clean energy and solid waste management, and include an awards ceremony for the winning essay plus musical performances by Janice Grace and folksinger, Fred Nagel.

Earth Day, Tyner said, provides Dutchess County with the chance to follow other Hudson Valley counties that have put in place common-sense green initiatives, such as Rockland, Westchester and Suffolk counties that have banned toxic toys, and Ulster County, which has adopted the Neighbor Notification Law that requires notice and postings of lawn pesticides, among other ventures.

“Part of the reason I thought of the essay contest is every one of the issues is important and none of them is impossible,” Tyner said.

Also planned is an Earth Day 2016 rally on Friday in front of the Dutchess County office building in Poughkeepsie, featuring GMO-Free Dutchess, the Real Majority Project and other groups.

Cathy Schmitz, coordinator of POKLIT that promotes the literary arts in Poughkeepsie, said area poets are gathering at the Mid-Hudson Heritage Center in Poughkeepsie today for “Earth Laughs in Flowers: A Tribute to the Earth in Poem.”

“People can come and tell about the Earth and what they love about it,” Schmitz said.

About a dozen poets are lined up for the event, with walk-ins welcomed. Among those slated to present are Lucia Cherciu and Judith Saunders.

Schmitz said people sometimes need a reminder of what’s already there, as with a day dedicated to the planet and its care.

“It will be interesting to see what people bring to it,” Schmitz said of the event.

Scenic Hudson is holding an Earth Day cleanup on Friday at Long Dock Park in Beacon, where volunteers are invited to help clean the shoreline and remove invasive plants.

“We’ve been doing an Earth Day cleanup for a long time,” said Anthony Coneski, the organization’s event and volunteer coordinator.

As well, Scenic Hudson is partnering with the John Burroughs Sanctuary on Saturday to build a new hiking trail beginning at the sanctuary’s Pond Lane entrance. The new segment is part of a planned trail through the John Burroughs Black Creek Corridor.

“Having a day actually for the Earth gives people an excuse to get out and make a difference,” Coneski said.

Star-watchers and astronomers will have the opportunity to share in Earth Day festivities through two free astronomy-related events by the Environmental Cooperative at Vassar Barns, including a star-gazing at Vassar College’s Observatory in Poughkeepsie on April 27, and a screening of the documentary, “A Sidewalk Astronomer,” on April 29.

“This event will allow us to explore the environment above us, gaze at several star constellations, and observe the planetary and cosmic events that are happening around us,” Jen Rubbo, manager of the Environmental Cooperative, said in a released statement.

And, in recognition of the City of Poughkeepsie’s communities, diversity and biodiversity, the Poughkeepsie Earth Day Committee, a non-affiliated group of people, was scheduled to holdEarth Day events on Saturday, including street cleanups, a bicycle tour, kid- and family-friendly activities, music, food and more.

“It’s a celebration and concern about the environment and the outdoors, but it’s also a celebration and concern of the city, which faces a lot of challenges but has so much to offer,” said Laurie Sandow, a former Brooklynite and now City of Poughkeepsie resident who initiated and coordinated the new event.

“I feel so fortunate to have moved to Poughkeepsie,” Sandow said. “I just love this city. I love its diversity. I love all the cultural aspects that are so close by. The outdoors. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is a gem. … It’s really a great city.”

Karen Maserjian Shan is a freelance writer: mkshan@optonline.net

•“Earth Laughs in Flowers: A Tribute to the Earth in Poem,” 2-5 p.m., April 17, Mid-Hudson Heritage Center, Poughkeepsie (in conjunction with POKLIT); https://www.facebook.com/events/1959140520978793/

•Earth Day Cleanup, April 22, Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park, Beacon; http://bit.ly/22szU6b

•Earth Day Cleanup & Native American Culture, April 22-24, Lucky Orphans Horse Rescue, Dover Plains; www.luckyorphanshorserescue.org

•Earth Day Dutchess 2016 Essay and art/poetry/music contest and rally, April 23, Rhinebeck Town Hall; https://www.facebook.com/events/206784393021458/

•Spring Trail Building for Earth Day, April 23, John Burroughs Sanctuary at Pond Lane entrance, Esopus; Contact Anthony Coneski: aconeski@scenichudson.org or 845-473-4440, ext. 273.

•Stargazing at the Vassar Observatory, April 27 (weather permitting); Screening of “A Sidewalk Astronomer,” April 29; Maria Garcia, Environmental Cooperative at the Vassar Barns; 845-437-7435, margarcia@vassar.edu

•Rhinebeck Town Hall Repair Cafe XI, May 7; https://m.facebook.com/events/1533653906936203