I remember my mother teaching me to appreciate nature and to
”
go green
”
before anyone had yet coined that term.
I remember my mother teaching me to appreciate nature and to “go green” before anyone had yet coined that term. Each spring, she planted her own fruits and vegetables; she kept a compost area in the back yard, and she grew her own earthworms. She taught me to have an appreciation for the wonders of nature that grace this unique planet we are lucky enough to inhabit.
Last year, I watched as a child’s face lit up with excitement as 86-year-old Vic Lase showed her how to connect the walls of a bird house to the foundation. She was learning how to build a nesting box to provide shelter for the first small song birds of spring.
“This type of bird house is designed for chickadees,” he explained. “That’s why the opening is so small.”
Such has been the scene at Christmas Hill Park each spring for the past two years in the Lions Club celebration of Earth Day.
It’s a day that raises awareness about the Earth’s natural resources and provides education about environmental conservation.
Marilyn Mitri is a local activist and president of the local Lions Club who is marking this weekend by keeping the celebration alive.
Ever since the City of Gilroy canceled the traditional April Earth Day in 2009, the seasoned citizens of the Lions Club have kept the annual citywide Earth Day observation going through a purely grassroots effort.
“When the City rescinded Earth Day, we thought, why don’t we just go ahead and have our own program?” said Lase, a bird lover and Gilroy resident for 54 years. “Right now I’m preparing all the materials to make 100 bird house kits.” The bird houses are designed to protect the eggs and young of local song birds from predators such as squirrels and raccoons.
“I’ve even had blue birds use this box,” he said of the bird houses he designs for nesting. “I thought the opening was too small, but by golly the mama blue bird just flew right in!”
The Lions, many of whom are senior citizens, have added new resources and new energy this year by partnering with Victory Outreach Church to put on the celebration. The collaboration promises to make for the best Earth Day celebration yet.
Saturday’s event will include such activities as face painting, species observation, building bird houses, and an Easter egg hunt. The Lions have donated two children’s bicycles, and the tickets to win them will be hidden inside Easter eggs during the hunt in the park.
The first Earth Day event was held April 22, 1970. The event is celebrated simultaneously around the globe by more than a billion people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities.
Earth Day will be celebrated at Christmas Hill Park on April 23, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. or “Until whenever we run out of bird houses,” as Lions Club member Bill Hart put it. For more into, contact Marilyn Mitri at 847-0092. Registration for the Community Easter Egg Hunt begins at 10 a.m., and the hunt itself starts at 11 a.m. for kids up to 12 years old. There will be an appearance by the Easter bunny, games, prizes, face painting, a photo booth and food booth, and jump house. Easter Egg Hunt Details: 848-6715.
