Sequim This Week

Sequim will celebrate Earth Day on April 17.

What started as a small recognition of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day has turned into a citywide celebration.

“I started thinking about what Sequim could do to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2009,” said Sequim Earth Day chairwoman and Sequim Mayor Pro Tem Laura Dubois.
“Last year, we had a very small Earth Day celebration with the intention of having a larger celebration this year.
“Things sort of grew from there, and a lot of people stepped forward and asked to be involved.
“It is very exciting and should be a wonderful day for the entire family.”

Although Earth Day activities will be held at a variety of locations in Sequim, the main venue will be the Boys & Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St.

The club will host free presentations, demonstrations and more between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, April 17.

The focus of Sequim’s Earth Day will center around water conservation, waste reduction, energy efficiency, renewable energy and fuel efficiency.

“We have wonderful presentations about drip irrigation for the home gardener, renewable ocean energy, the importance of the local food system and many, many others,” Dubois said.

Presentations by officials from the Dungeness River Audubon Center, Power Trip Energy, Built Green of Clallam County, Battelle/Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Clallam County Public Utility District, The Co-Op Farm & Garden, Olympic Medical Center, the Sierra Club and others will take place throughout the event.

A variety of educational booths also will help educate attendees about what they can do to live a little greener.
Exhibitors include Mike’s Bikes, Power Trip Energy, Clallam County PUD, League of Women Voters,Battelle/Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Built Green of Clallam County and others.

Children will have a chance to use their creative skills at the Fish on a Fence booth sponsored by Fiero Marine Life Center.

“Kids can paint a ceramic fish that will become part of the Fiero Marine Life Center in Port Angeles,” Dubois said.
“Thanks to very generous Earth Day sponsors, everything during the day is free for people who attend.”

A special display of artwork submitted about water conservation by middle school students for the Mayor’s Poster Contest will be on display in the club.

The Sequim Open Aire Market will hold its annual Spring Fling at the Boys & Girls Club from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Our vendors will be promoting earth-friendly products, and everything is locally made,” said Lisa Bridge, manager of the Sequim Open Aire Market. “We will have live music by Joe Bridge, fresh food for sampling, food presentations, a live broadcast by KSQM-FM and clowns making balloon animals, plants and trees for children.”

Some of the products for sale will include plants and hanging baskets, eggs, pottery, hand-spun wool, goat milk, soaps, sea glass jewelry, rugs made from Pendelton wool remnants and plenty of other locally grown and produced goods.

Outside the Boys & Girls Club, people can view electric vehicles including Sequim Police Chief Robert Spinks’ hybrid vehicle and low-carbon emission vehicles used by Dungeness Water Users Association and Friends of the Fields.

Off-site activities will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at June Robinson Memorial Park, located at the corner of Sunnyside Avenue and Spruce Street, at noon.

“Most of the Earth Day activities are within walking distance of the Boys & Girls Club so I encourage people to walk, ride their bikes or take public transportation to the event,” Dubois said.

A composting demonstration will be held at Community Organic Gardens of Sequim’s Fir Street Garden, located behind St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave., at noon.

Master composter Jack Caldicott will discuss the benefits of composting during the presentation.
People can also learn more about the organic gardens from COGS organizers.

In the downtown area, Blue Whole Gallery, 129 W. Washington St., will have hands-on print-making demonstrations using recycled materials from noon to 4 p.m.

Doodlebugs, 138 W. Washington St., will have sunflower seeds for children to plant in biodegradable peat pots.

Sequim-Dungeness Chamber of Commerce volunteers will staff a booth at Bank of America Park to hand out maps and provide Earth Day information to people who stop by.

Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave., will screen two environmentally oriented films. “Harvest Dreams” will be shown at 10 am. and 1 p.m., and “The Power of Community” will be shown at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“‘Harvest Dreams” is a film produced by Friends of the Fields that describes the variety of farm enterprises in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley and helps the viewer see the challenges and opportunities that we face,” said Bob Caldwell of Friends of the Fields and Olympic Theatre Arts. “The film illustrates the need for the community to preserve local farmland for generations to come.”

“The Power of Community” is a documentary that tells how Cuba survived when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990. The collapse caused Cuba’s economy to go into a tailspin. The film shows the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time.

Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens.

The Museum & Arts Center, 175 W. Cedar St., will host the Recycled Art Show featuring pieces created from recycled and re-purposed items.

The museum will also have Earth Day posters for children to color.

Museum volunteers will be on hand at the Boys & Girls Club to hand out 10-percent-off coupons good for use at the museum store on April 17.

At the Water Reuse Park, located just north of Carrie Blake Park, people can enjoy guided nature walks to learn more about native plants and the Garry Oak Project.

Walks led by Master Gardeners and Clallam Conservation District officials will be offered at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (See the sidebar below for additional information.)

McComb Gardens, 751 McComb Road, will tell visitors about the recent installation of solar panels, which has made the nursery 85 percent to 90 percent “powered by the sun.”

“Our Earth Day mission is to provide the community with activities and programs to educate and mobilize people for environmental protection and sustainability,” Dubois said.

“Participating in Sequim’s Earth Day allows everyone in the family to learn something new. We have fun activities for kids so they can learn and get excited about what they can do to protect the environment.”

EARTH DAY PRESENTATIONS
Sequim Earth Day 2010 will include a variety of presentations at the Boys & Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St., on Saturday, April 17.

Scheduled presenters and presentations include:
Presentation Room No. 1 (turn left upon entering the club)
10:15 a.m. — “The Local Food System” by Curtis Beus, the director and agriculture and natural resource agent for Washington State University Extension in Clallam County.
11:15 a.m. — Dungeness River Audubon Center.
12:15 p.m. — PUD of Clallam County.
2:15 p.m. — Power Trip Energy.
3:15 p.m. — Built Green of Clallam County.
Presentation Room No. 2 (turn right upon entering the club)
10:30 a.m. — “Renewable Ocean Energy” by Battelle/Peninsula Northwest Laboratory.
11:30 a.m. — “Wild Olympics” by Ben Gruel of the Sierra Club.
12:30 p.m. — “Drip Irrigation for the Home Gardener” by The Co-op Farm & Garden.
1:30 p.m. — “Locally Grown Food and Nutrition” by Olympic Medical Center.
2:30 p.m. — “Renewable Ocean Energy” by Battelle/Peninsula Northwest Laboratory.

EARTH DAY IN THE PARK ACTIVITIES
During the Saturday, April 17, Earth Day celebration, Master Gardeners and officials from Clallam Conservation District and the Dungeness Water Users Association will be at Sequim’s Water Reclamation Park north of Carrie Blake Park near the James Center Band Shell between
10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
They will have displays and demonstrations promoting Sequim’s environmental awareness with a focus on water reclamation.
Master Gardeners will address the planned Olympic Peninsula Demonstration Garden and the ongoing Garry Oak Restoration Project.
Both projects use the city’s reclaimed water for irrigation as an active demonstration of sustainable gardening.
Tours will be given of the garden installations to date, highlighting drainage and irrigation improvements and the lavender, dahlia and rock gardens.
There will also be displays and information on the oak savannah restoration project in the northern portion of the Reclamation Park.
The Sequim Prairie Oak Project will have a booth with brochures and educational information.
Clallam Conservation District will lead two walks — one at 10:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. — around the Water Reclamation Park focusing on the native vegetation along the reclaimed waterways, which flow through the park and along the western edge of the Demonstration Garden.
The walks will be easy and short, lasting less than one hour.
Native trees and shrubs used in the landscaping of the park will be identified, and principles of natural landscaping, emphasizing water conservation, habitat enhancement, stormwater management and low maintenance will be discussed.
The proposed low-impact development practices for the Master Gardener Demonstration Garden and a planned parking lot on the southeastern portion of the park will be presented.
There will be display booths with information about native plants, natural landscaping and rain gardens, and the Demonstration Garden.
In partnership with the Dungeness River Agricultural Water Users Association, there will be information about large-scale water conservation projects that have occurred in the valley over the past decade.
The Friends of the Garden will be on hand demonstrating how to construct topiaries. Several topiary dogs will be on display.
They will have plants for sale and will be sponsoring a garden-tool sharpening service by B&B Sharpening of Port Angeles.