The 40th anniversary of Earth Day will be celebrated on St. John with an Environmental Fair and Reef Fest. The first is an Environmental Fair on from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 23 at V.I. National Park Ballfield in Cruz Bay. The celebration continues with a Reef Fest from noon to 5 p.m. April 24 at Hawksnest Beach. Both are sponsored by the Friends of the V.I. National Park and are free and open to the public.
Friends program manager Audrey Penn said she expects 15 to 20 organizations, groups and individuals to have exhibits set up for Earth Day. They include Maho Bay Camps recycled art, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Recycling Association of the Virgin Islands, Gifft Hill School’s marine biology class, and the park’s archeology interns.
Additionally, Penn expects the students to participate in a solar powered car race and in a coral reef-oriented rap contest.
Last year, over 700 students attended the Earth Day fair. Penn said that both the fair and Reef Fest are great ways to teach the territory’s youth about the environment and important environmental issues. It is also an excellent opportunity to expose St. John students, who generally don’t have the ability to attend fairs in St. Thomas, to important environmental programs on other islands.
While most of the activities will be targeted at students, Penn said there will be lots of information available that everyone can use. And, she said that the Friends will hand out reusable Nalgene water bottles to those who attend Earth Day in hopes of cutting down on the use of plastic water bottles.
"Plastic is drastic. Choose to reuse," she said.
Some of the Earth Day exhibitors will be on hand for the Reef Fest, and the winners of the rap contest will be announced, Penn said.
The Reef Fest activities include snorkeling, kayaking and sandcastle building.
The Friends are focusing on reefs because they are in danger. Penn said that things that happen on land affect the reefs.
"It’s about the Earth. The ocean is part of the Earth," Penn said.
According to a press release from the Friends, the goal in hosting both events is to educate, inform, and inspire the territory’s youth and the community on the importance of preserving and protecting our environment.
Island wide beach clean-ups will be happening throughout the week. Participants of the Friends’ Adopt-A-Beach/Trail program are asked to remove debris from their adopted beach/trail as part of an island-wide cleanup. The Adopt-A-Beach/Trail program encourages volunteer groups to adopt a site and become responsible for keeping it clean. If you are interested in adopting a beach/trail, contact the Friends group.
Volunteers are needed at both the Environmental Fair and Reef Fest. Call Penn at 779-4940.
