Earth Day 2012 in Our Backyard

An old friend we hope celebrated Earth Day in Mexico

I had a wonderful Earth Day thanks to many good people and an amazing planet!  My day started out with an early morning "birding" expedition led by Russ Schipper, bird expect and educator.  I was the most novice in the bunch, so I kept my mouth shut and my eyes peeled, which seems to be good practice for most times (I just sometimes forget).  The wind was pretty strong and the air cold as we started out at the North Pier and traveled along our coastline, ending up at the state park.  My favorite spotting was of a flock of mergansers.  They are pretty amazing ducks.  They seem very pleased with themselves, especially the males (I feel as if you can add your own comment here).  It was a great adventure!  I got home and found out that I was bitterly cold.  Apparently I had been too interested in birds to have noticed how cold I really was . . . a sign of a great adventure.  It took a large bowl of oatmeal and a warm blanket to revive me.   



I attended the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum's Earth Day celebration later that day.  It was a well attended and a really lovely event.  John Stempien reminded us of how Liberty Hyde Bailey saw the beauty and sacredness in all the earth.  I think everyday was Earth Day for Mr. Bailey.  He loved the great and the small of it and all the in between of it.  He must have smiled looking down at all of us in his old homestead, celebrating the earth.  Anne Long gave a short history of Earth Day from the 1970's and reminded us of how really far we have come and how important it is to stand up and be heard.  Little things, done together can make a big difference.  That's the spirit of Earth Day . . . We also had a guest speaker, Maynard Kaufman, who talked about saving the earth in our backyard.  He reminded us that biodiversity is critical to a vital ecosystem.  One step toward promoting biodiversity is to decrease (or eliminate) those manicured grass lawns!  He also stressed the importance of planting native species of trees, flowers and perennials.  His ideas were practical, simple and earth friendly.  Learn more about Mr. Kaufman and his earth friendly techniques and ideas on the Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum Website.  I hope to see many of you at the fun and educational events the museum offers through the year.  It is always a good time filled with amazing people and generous hospitality.  Happy Earth Day to all of you that make this planet your home!