Wetlands Festival at Wildwood Park.
Photo courtesy of Dauphin County Parks and Recreation.
This month, New Cumberland is ground zero for local Earth Day happenings.
“We’re surrounded by natural resources here—the Susquehanna River, the Yellow Breeches Creek—so Earth Day events feel like a natural tie-in,” said Drew Lawrence of the New Cumberland Collective, a community nonprofit planning month-long celebrations.
Events kick off April 1 with a “Repair Fair” at Weist Hardware. Handy community helpers are willing to fix small appliances, make electrical, carpentry and plumbing repairs, and offer bike and car maintenance. Mending and fixing things are sustainable habits, Lawrence said, that reduce landfill volume.
Earth & Arts
The borough’s signature event is the New Cumberland Earth & Arts Festival, April 16, both inside and outside the New Cumberland Library.
“We came up with different ways to include the arts in environmental messages,” Lawrence said.
For example, festival-goers can learn about sustainable fashion through workshops on thrifting and natural dyeing.
“We’ll have live music that’s very natural—songs about trees and a beat-making performance using cool sounds from nature,” Lawrence said.
Food trucks, art vendors and a recyclable art contest will add to the festive atmosphere. Booths, talks and bird walks will be offered by the West Shore Wildlife Center and American Audubon Society.
On Earth Day, April 22, Mayor Thad Eisenhower will exert pedal power, for a “Bike the Borough” ride.
Later, Litter
Over the years, volunteers with the Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup have found everything but the kitchen sink.
Oh wait—as unlikely as it might sound, they actually have found old kitchen sinks, along with old construction materials, plus plenty of bottles, cans and typical litter. You name it, they’ve probably found and picked it up—all by hand.
It adds up. Hundreds of volunteers have removed a grand total of 380 tons of litter from the city over the past 10 years. Last year alone, volunteers properly disposed of 450 tires.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” said Charlie Miller, with event organizer Tri County Community Action. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of illegal dumping that happens in Harrisburg, and this is a chance for residents to reclaim their neighborhood and to communicate that they want vibrant, safe, clean places to work and play.”
This year’s 11th Annual Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup is set for Earth Day, April 22. The cleanup operates from three locations—South Allison Hill, Midtown and Uptown. The public is invited to participate by registering online, with free T-shirts for early registrants.
“The event is meant to bring residents and friends of Harrisburg together, as a community, to take on litter and be engaged in their city’s beautification,” Miller said.
Barrels of Fun
Sustainability is on tap, April 15, at the 12th Annual Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival, where rain barrels are star attractions.
“The highest bidders go home with functional rain barrels that are also works of art,” said Susanna Reppert, festival coordinator.
Like a spring ritual, professional artists and area art students transform the barrels with colorful paint.
Rain barrels help gardeners conserve water and reduce water bills, potentially hundreds of gallons’ worth. The auction has another sustainable feature—profits underwrite the event, planned under the umbrella of the nonprofit Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership.
The downtown festival typically draws 1,800 people for its earth-friendly vendors, entertainment such as drumming, environmental nonprofits and unique community recycling.
Faded American flags, unused prescription drugs, print cartridges and old eyeglasses will be collected by the American Legion, Mechanicsburg Police, Simpson Library and Mechanicsburg Lions’ Club, respectively. Mechanicsburg fifth-graders with the Green Team Environmental Club are accepting Styrofoam, aluminum cans and old markers. Bicycles in any condition are being collected by Operation Wildcat, an organization that supports Mechanicsburg Area School District’s families in need.
“Since the Earth Day Festival is on Tax Day, April 15, you can even bring and shred all your documents you no longer need,” Reppert said. That’s thanks to a booth run by PSECU.
Reppert, owner of longtime downtown business, Rosemary House, is collecting old crayons for The Crayon Initiative, a nonprofit that creates new crayons distributed to hospitals.
“People like the vibe at our event,” Reppert said. “We have a strong ‘zero-waste’ commitment, so there’s minimal waste and trash. People really appreciate that.”
Celebration of Remediation
MycoSymbiotics, a mushroom research lab, was one of the first businesses to occupy offices to The Bridge Eco-Village.
A $40 million project, The Bridge plans to convert the former Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg into an eco-friendly community hub mixing residential units with co-working spaces and a large event space. The school’s former stadium has been transformed into tiered garden beds.
“The Bridge is really the perfect ecosystem and space to show the world that any land can be remediated for the good of the earth and the people,” said Leslie Avila of MycoSymbiotics, organizer of the 2nd Annual Earth Day Fest at The Bridge, April 22 and 23.
Free festival events include a seed swap, live music and community mural painting. Tickets are required for overnight camping and educational workshops, such as how to develop a solar greenhouse.
“There’s been a new awakening—a shift in our consciousness,” Avila said. “Our ways of doing things, culturally, isn’t really sustainable. The Earth Day Fest offers the opportunity for people to learn how to live more sustainably so the earth can be a healthier place.”
Nature Treasure
Many people developed a newfound appreciation for nature amid the pandemic.
“Our visitation spiked—we had 100,000 visitors in March of 2020, and previously we had 100,000 visitors in a year,” said Savanna Lenker of Dauphin County’s Wildwood Park. “The Wetlands Festival gives them the chance to learn more about what makes Wildwood so special.”
Live animals—including turtles and frogs—science experiments, environmental groups, music and food are planned for the 23rd Annual Wetlands Festival on April 29. The family-friendly event is traditionally one of the park’s two busiest days of the year, attracting some 1,500 people. Guided nature walks will help visitors identify the park’s birds, trees and wildflowers.
Additionally, the 11th annual “Art in the Wild,” an outdoor natural art exhibit, is set to open on April 2.
“Our wetlands are very special,” Lenker said. “The park serves as a huge flood control device for the city of Harrisburg because Wildwood Lake absorbs floodwater and prevents it from making its way downtown.”
Digging Deeper
There’s a lot more to learn about the Earth Day events featured in this story:
- New Cumberland Collective’s month-long events, including the April 16 New Cumberland Earth & Arts Festival, newcumberland.co
- Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival, April 15, mechanicsburgearthdayfest.com
- Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup, April 22, cactricounty.org
- Earth Day Fest at The Bridge Eco-Village, April 22-23, thebridgeecovillage.com
- Wetlands Festival at Wildwood Park, April 29, explorewildwoodpark.org/event/wetlands-festival
All events mentioned are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
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