CES at the Maryland Municipal League's annual convention

Greetings from Ocean City, Maryland!

   I have just attended the annual convention of the Maryland Municipal League at the Convention Center here in Ocean City.  There were rain storms yesterday that felt like monsoons and left the streets with at least six inches of standing water.  Once inside the convention center, however, all was dry and comfortable.  There were many municipalities from around the state represented here, as well as a whole host of commercial enterprises all looking for ways to connect to the municipalities' purchasing managers.  You can't believe the amount of freebies; folks were walking about with large, reusable bags filled with stuff.
   I was attending the annual convention as a representative of Chestertown's Green Team, giving out lots of information about the efforts made by Chestertown's government and citizens of the town to move toward a more sustainable future (see the newsletter below).  I was also handing out copies of a Community Greening Toolkit, which gives examples of the kinds of projects undertaken in Chestertown, and offers resources for other municipalities to begin their own green projects without having to reinvent the wheel, as it were.  Click on the link for more information.

   If you have any greening tips you would like posted to the Chestertown Goes Green web site, send me an email and I'll see what can be done.

Briggs Cunningham is the Climate Action Coordinator at the Center for Environment & Society, and can be contacted here.

Recycled Art Sculpture Contest- Winners!

The Center for Environment & Society is pleased to announce the winners of the Recycled Art / Sculpture Contest:
1st place - "Juliper" (Coca Cola guitar) - Julia Erbe
2nd place - "Shelldon" (green turtle) - Chelsea Vetick
3rd place - "Colosseum" (stadium) Spencer Van Cise, Austin Yocum, Benjamin Longwell
Overall Most Green/OMG - "Leaning Tower of Platinum" - Casey Frische
Incoming SGA president Zach Pandl, professor Ricky Sears and professor Mark Wiest served on the Judges Panel. They awarded cash prizes ($25, $20, $15 for first through third place, respectively) during the campus Earth Day celebration on Friday, April 20th. The OMG winner garnered herbs from Redman Farms.
Student artworks were also on display during the Earth Day Festival & Mutt Strut in Downtown Chestertown on Saturday, April 21st. Chelsea Vetick staffed the CES booth and set up the recycled artworks next to Jacqueline Melvin's "Love is a Library" display. Sarah Giordano and Kathy Thornton created a College composting exhibit. SEA advisor Tara Holste promoted local foods and agriculture at her table.

Earth Day Festival & Farmers Market

Earth Day Festival & Farmers Market
8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Fountain Park & Memorial Row
Chestertown

The annual Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival is Saturday, April 21st, from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM in downtown Chestertown.
Festivities begin in Fountain Park with the Farmer's Market, live music, and dog walk registration. The walk itself starts at 10:00 AM and winds through the historic district before ending at the County Courthouse. Near the Episcopal Church and the old cannon, Memorial Row will transform into a pedestrian street fair with funnel cake, fish fry, hamburgers and hot dogs by Rose Green, crafters, eco-exhibitors, recycling displays and collections. Pet tricks and canine competitions that include a high jump, doggie limbo, musical sit, waggiest tail, longest tail, shortest tail, smallest dog, tallest dog, best slobber, look-alike and costume contest will take place on the Courthouse Lawn.
Events are sponsored by the Kent County Humane Society, the Town of Chestertown, and Washington College's Center for Environment & Society. "We join together to promote public parks, green spaces, and healthy land, air and water," says JoAnn Fairchild, who works for the College. "For our pets, our families and our future," she says, it is in the community's best interest to be a good steward of the Earth.

* 8:00 AM - exhibitors and vendors set up on Memorial Row
* 9:00 AM - mutt strut registration in Fountain Park
* 9:00-1:00 PM - music by Bob & Pam Ortiz, Rebecca Pitre & Friends, and other acts
* 10:00 AM - dog walk begins
* 10:30 AM - canine competitions on Courthouse lawn
* 1:00 PM - festival ends on a happy note

Mutt Strut is the spring fund-raiser solely for benefit of the Humane Society's animal shelter. Entry fee for Mutt Strut is $20 per dog. To promenade with a pooch, go to www.kenthumane.org or call 410-778-3648 to register.
The Earth Day Festival is free and open to the public. Earth Day exhibitors and vendors may bring their own tables or reserve them through jfairchild2@washcoll.edu or 410-778-7295. The cost for an 8-foot table is $15, payable to Washington College CES on the day of the event. Please reserve your table by April 15th. In case of heavy rain, the Farmers Market will prevail but vendors and exhibitors will not set up their booths on Memorial Row.

Annual Earth Day Festival

April 23, 2011



Earth Day Festival & Farmers Market
8:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Fountain Park & Memorial Row
Chestertown

Spring flowers, local artisans, live music, tasty baked goods, fresh eggs, meats and produce will highlight the Farmers Market in Fountain Park. Across the street Memorial Row will transform into a dog- and pedestrian-only "street fair," with Rose Green's fried fish and funnel cake wafting through the air, the local Elks lodge selling hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries, eco-friendly exhibitors, green merchants, and free services for paper shredding and recycling drop-offs (household batteries, cell-phones, CFL bulbs and fluorescent tubes). Everyone joins together in support of a healthy environment that includes "clean air, land and water," says Mayor Margo Bailey.
According to Andy Goddard, one of the event organizers, center stage will feature Ford "open mic" Schumann and friends, a duet by Jay and Lisa Yerkes, and musicians Bob and Pamela Ortiz among others. "Open air concerts and festivals are a lot of fun," says Goddard, because they encourage a community to come out and meet their neighbors. Mayor Bailey notes the positive impact on our local economy. She credits volunteers Jon Hanley, JoAnn Fairchild and Ms. Goddard for orchestrating the festival and other events that bring the community together while attracting visitors and tourists. "But by far the biggest draw is the Farmers Market," says Bailey, and we have Owen McCoy and all our local growers to thank for that.
The Humane Society reminds folks that Mutt Strut registration begins in Fountain Park at 8:30 AM, with the dog walk starting at 10:00 AM and ending at Wilmer Park. Registration for the walk is $10. All other events and activities in the Town's parks are free and open to the public. For festival information contact (410) 778-7295 and for Mutt Strut contact (410) 778-3648. The Earth Day Festival & Mutt Strut is a collaborative event sponsored by the Town of Chestertown, the Kent County Humane Society, and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. Read about last year's event here.

* 7:00 AM - vendors and exhibitors set up on Memorial Row
* 8:00 AM - Farmers Market opens in Fountain Park
* 8:30 AM - Mutt Strut registration in Fountain Park
* 9:30 AM - live music begins
* 10:00 AM - dog parade begins in Fountain Park and winds through Wilmer Park
* 1:00 PM - festival ends on a happy note

Go Green on 213

April 21, 2011

Come celebrate Earth Day on campus by showing the creative side of recycling! Put those cans from the weekend to good use or get a jump-start on building a boat for cardboard boat race. Find a team and build whatever you want out of recyclable materials. The teams with the best structures or sculptures will win. Judging takes place from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM on Thursday, April 21st, on the Hodson Commons outside the main entrance to the Dining Hall.

The rules for the "Go Green on 213" recycling sculpture contest are as follows:

1. Teams are not required to be present for the judging; however it is their responsibility to get the sculpture to and from the event.
2. Teams should have their names and name of the sculpture/structure presented with their entry.
3. Water soluble glues and paints only are allowed (no hot glue).
4. The sculptures must be set up by 11:30 AM on the day of the judging. It is the team's responsibility to plan accordingly.
5. Recyclable materials will not be given to the participants. It is the team's responsibility to collect their own materials for their structure.
6. Teams may win more than one category.

The JUDGES (Andrew Antonio, JoAnn Fairchild, Dr. Karl Kehm, and Ricky Sears) will award prizes in the following categories:

* Best cardboard structure
* Best can structure
* Best bottle structure
* People’s choice
* Most creative
* "OMG" (overall most green!) – it is reusable, helpful to others, and environmentally friendly.

PRIZES include I-tunes gift cards, a free pizza, coupons to Java George, and coupons to the Farmers Market on campus that day.

Dining Services is hosting a Farmers Market on the Commons starting at 11:00 AM. Vendors include Redman Farms, Eve’s Cheese and St. Brigid’s Farm among other local producers. According to Donna Dhue Wilkins, the College’s food service director, “organic beef tips and fresh salad greens will surely highlight the lunch menu that day.”
For information on the RECYCLING SCULPTURE CONTEST contact Elle O'Brien at eobrien3@washcoll.edu or (410) 778-7295. “You can build any structure or create sculpture made out of recycled cans, bottles, or cardboard,” she says. O’Brien, who is an intern with the College's Center for Environment & Society, says the contest winners will be invited to display their structures at the Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival in downtown Chestertown on Saturday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Earth Week Events

Thursday, April 22
EARTH DAY CELEBRATION
11am – 2pm
Hodson Hall Commons and Cater Walk
An open community event for students, staff, faculty and friends of the college featuring foods from local farmers on our menu. We will be hosting a farmers market along Cater walk and showing the film "2 Angry Mom’s" in the Center Stage.
Fee to general public for lunch buffet $6.00

Friday, April 23
"Nourishing Traditional Diets for the 21st Century", a talk by Sally Fallon
7PM
Author Sally Fallon Morell exposes the dangers of low-fat diets and urges a return to traditional food choices and preparation techniques. She will speak in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, Washington College. Sponsored by the Anthropology Department and the Center for Environment & Society.

Saturday, April 24
Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Fountain Park & Memorial Row
Chestertown

The Kent County Humane Society, the Town of Chestertown, and Washington College's Center for Environment & Society will present the annual Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival in downtown Chestertown on Saturday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Festivities begin in Fountain Park with the Farmers' Market, live music, and registration for the 13th annual Mutt Strut. The dog parade starts at 10 a.m. and winds through Town, finishing at the Courthouse where Shelter Associate Courtney Phelps presides over a series of "pawsitive" pet tricks, canine competitions and agility contests. There is a $10 registration fee for Mutt Strut, while Earth Day and pet fair festivities are free and open to the public.
Earth Day features eco-friendly exhibitors, crafters and vendors; free paper shredding; free recycling of fluorescent bulbs; free recycling of rechargeable- and alkaline batteries; environmental education, and opportunities for kids of all ages to learn why it is important to take care of Mother Earth's air, land and water. "The social, environmental and economic choices we make today have real consequences for the planet," says Mayor Margo Bailey.
For more information, call 410/778-7295 or visit ces.washcoll.edu and www.kenthumane.org.

* 8:00 AM - Farmers' Market opens in Fountain Park
* 9:00 AM - music begins on Memorial Row
* 9:00 AM - dog walkers register in Fountain Park
* 10:00 AM - dog parade begins
* 10:30 AM - dog agility contests begin in Fountain Park
* 1:00 PM - festival ends on a happy note

Mutt Strut & Earth Day is a community event sponsored by the Town of Chestertown, the Kent County Humane Society, and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College.

Sunday, April 25
Taste of the Town
Featuring sampler plates of the signature dishes of 15 of Chestertown’s finest restaurants and caterers, including the beneficiary of the event, the Culinary Arts program of the Kent County High School.

Participating restaurants and caterers range from nouvelle gourmet to those famous for regional classics such as Maryland Crab Soup.

The tented event will take place from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m in Chestertown’s waterfront Wilmer Park.

In addition to food, Taste of the Town will offer beer, wine from the local Cassinelli Winery, beverage stations, a cookbook sale, raffles for restaurant gift certificates and
a live auction of select premier items donated by restaurants and sponsors.

"Skipjack: America's Last Sailing Oystermen", Christopher White and the Watermen of Tilghman’s Island
5pm – 6pm
Decker Theatre, Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts
Join us for a powerful discussion about the decline of the oyster harvest and the future of the oystermen's way of life. The event will include a talk by Christopher White, author of the critically-acclaimed new book, Skipjack: The Story of America's Last Sailing Oystermen, and a unique public conversation with four legendary senior skipjack captains: 89-year-old Arthur Daniels, Jr. and his son Stan Daniels, both of Deal Island, and Wade Murphy, Jr. and Stanley Larrimore of Tilghman Island.
You are invited to "Meet the Captains" at the post-program Oyster Reception and book signing. Attendees will also have an opportunity to explore a remarkable exhibition of skipjack-inspired art, including photography, paintings and models by Chesapeake masters Marion E. Warren, A. Aubrey Bodine, John Barber, Carolyn Egeli, Tim Bell, the CBMM Modeling Club, and many others.
The event is co-sponsored by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College.

Mutt Strut and Earth Day

April 24, 2010

Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival

9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Fountain Park & Memorial Row

Chestertown

The Kent County Humane Society, the Town of Chestertown, and Washington College's Center for Environment & Society will present the annual Mutt Strut & Earth Day Festival in downtown Chestertown on Saturday, April 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Festivities begin in Fountain Park with the Farmers' Market, live music, and registration for the 13th annual Mutt Strut. The dog parade starts at 10 a.m. and winds through Town, finishing at the Courthouse where Shelter Associate Courtney Phelps presides over a series of "pawsitive" pet tricks, canine competitions and agility contests. There is a $10 registration fee for Mutt Strut, while Earth Day and pet fair festivities are free and open to the public.

Earth Day features eco-friendly exhibitors, crafters and vendors; free paper shredding; free recycling of fluorescent bulbs; free recycling of rechargeable- and alkaline batteries; environmental education, and opportunities for kids of all ages to learn why it is important to take care of Mother Earth's air, land and water. "The social, environmental and economic choices we make today have real consequences for the planet," says Mayor Margo Bailey.

For more information, call 410/778-7295 or visit ces.washcoll.edu and www.kenthumane.org.

• 8:00 AM - Farmers' Market opens in Fountain Park


• 9:00 AM - music begins on Memorial Row


• 9:00 AM - dog walkers register in Fountain Park


• 10:00 AM - dog parade begins


• 10:30 AM - dog agility contests begin in Fountain Park


• 1:00 PM - festival ends on a happy note

Mutt Strut & Earth Day is a community event sponsored by the Town of Chestertown, the Kent County Humane Society, and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. To register as a vendor or exhibitor, write to jfairchild2@washcoll.edu or call 410-778-7295 by April 14.