First-Ever Earth Day Event At Doylestown's Broad Commons Park

DOYLESTOWN BOROUGH, PA — To kick off the borough's Earth Day celebration, Doylestown Borough Mayor Noni West this week proclaimed Earth Day in the borough and encouraged the community to attend the town's first ever Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 20.

The Doylestown Borough Environmental Advisory Council will hold the event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Broad Commons Park across from the Doylestown Borough Hall in celebration of the 54th anniversary of the Earth Day movement.

The free event will offer a variety of activities promoting environmental sustainability in the community, including:

• Native plant giveaways.
• An information table spotlighting the borough's environmental initiatives.
• Seed planting and bird coloring activities for kids.
• Face painting for kids ($5 per child).
• A tour of native plantings in Broad Commons Park.
• Information from Birdtown PA on programs to sustain bird-friendly habitats and ideas about attracting birds and pollinators.
• Information on land conservation efforts from Bucks County Conservation District and Heritage Conservancy.
• And an electric lawn equipment demonstration.

Early risers are also invited to take a morning bird walk through Chapman Park on April 20 from 8 to 10 a.m. Bring a pair of binoculars and trail shoes (the paths may be wet).

The walk will be led by former councilwoman Wendy Margolis, an avid birder for nearly 40 years. She is a former board member of the Bucks County Audubon Society and former president of Bucks County Birders. She also is a volunteer at Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, a birding spot where she always has her binoculars close at hand.

Since planting a wildlife habitat with native plants on her Doylestown Borough property, she has logged more than 75 species of birds in her yard, proving that if you invite them, birds will come.

The Earth Day movement was started by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an ardent conservationist, in the spring of 1970. It was an attempt to force the environment onto the national agenda in the wake of several environmental disasters including the Santa Barbara oil spill and the Cuyahoga River Fire.

"As caretakers of our planet, we have a responsibility to preserve the Earth's beauty and resources for the benefit of its current and future inhabitants," said Mayor West in reading from the proclamation. "Let be known that Doylestown Borough asks its businesses, institutions and individuals to celebrate the Earth and commit to caring for the planet, its inhabitants and its resources."

Mayor West, in presenting a copy of the proclamation to EAC member Steven Nelson, invited residents to join the borough in celebrating Earth Day at Broad Commons Park and "to do everything possible to reduce the consumption of the Earth's resources, fight climate change, support green economic initiatives and encourage others to undertake action."