2012 Manchester Earth Day: gardens, bird houses, The Lorax and more!

April 14th marked the SCA New Hampshire Corps' Annual Earth Day Celebration in Manchester. For the second year in a row, SCA NH Corps partnered with the Massabesic Audubon Center to celebrate Earth Day and for the second year in a row, the Center got its highest turnout for the event. Over 300 people came to the Earth Day Celebration for a variety of activities, crafts, volunteer efforts, and music.
Fun was had by all as the Corps' Service Learning Projects were on display. This year the projects ranged from building pollinator gardens and enhancing outdoor classrooms, to creating compost and recycling programs for entire schools. The SCA NH Corps brought in some of their work in the form of log benches, hand painted recycle bins, and video interviews of students presenting their work. Visitors participated in recycling relay races, tree cookie painting, and a special fireside story reading of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (marshmallows included). It is also an opportunity for the students of Manchester to see their SCA teachers outside of school. "I built a bird house with my SCA teacher Max," said 4th grade student Matthew, "we learned to put mesh wire at the bottom so larvae don't hurt the eggs."
Also taking place was a volunteer project conducted by SCA Manchester. The four crew leaders led ten high school volunteers in an effort to prepare the 4H community gardens located at the Audubon Center for another growing season. The high school students worked hard to prepare the 4H beds by weeding, tilling soil, and planting seedlings. They also built new fencing along the perimeters of the beds to keep deer and other critters out. The community gardens at Massabesic Audubon Center serve both as a living classroom for 4H lessons, and a source of food for the New Hampshire Food Bank, which last year produced over 6,000 lbs of produce for underserved citizens of New Hampshire. The volunteer efforts here do not go unnoticed. "Most of the events here at the [Massabesic] Audubon are volunteer run," said one visitor, "and they're always fantastic."
Our Earth Day Celebration may be over, but our work is definitely not as SCA NH Corps begins to prepare for its season of conservation and interpretive programming. For a moment though, we'll have to stop and enjoy the amazing spring weather this April has been giving us and take some time to enjoy the beauty unfolding all around. Stop, take a deep breath, feel the warm sun again, and remember, every day is Earth Day.
Check out over 100 photos at www.manchesterearthday.com
(P.S. Ok, so they didn't need hard hats in the garden but it made it more fun and stylin')