TENAFLY, N.J.—On April 27, the Northern Valley Earth Fair (NVEF) was bustling with excitement at the Tenafly Middle School on Sunset Lane.
Each year, the NVEF is held at a different participating town, including Closter, Cresskill, Norwood, Demarest, Old Tappan and Tenafly. The Northern Valley Press is a Gold Sponsor of the event.
Hundreds of people and dozens of exhibits and live shows outdoors as well as in the gym made it a lively celebration.
There was even a gathering of mayors: Peter Rustin (Tenafly), John Glidden (Closter), John Kramer (Old Tappan), Sophie Heymann (past Closter Mayor) and Ray Cywinski (past Demarest Mayor) came to express their commitment to conservation.
NVEF began in 2012, when the Norwood Environmental Commission (EC), which had been having its own annual Earth Day, reached out to Cresskill’s EC (which had an Earthfest from 2009-2011), and to Old Tappan’s EC (which was active with its own activities).
These groups joined forces to put on one event to represent all three towns and the Northern Valley of New Jersey. As the event grew and included other communities, it rotated each year so that each town could lead the efforts and be the host.
Cywinski said, “It’s important for the Northern Valley Earth Fair to travel to different towns so that people everywhere feel that Earth Day is in their own backyard.”
This year’s NVEF, directed by Jessica Wang, chair of the Demarest Environmental Commission, featured electric vehicles, live music, educational presentations, a petting zoo, food trucks, “Endangered New Jersey” live animal shows by the Tenafly Nature Center, bee demonstrations by MEVO, organic foods, pet rescue and exhibits by numerous environmental conservation organizations.
Steve Isaacson, the Earth Fair director in 2017 and 2018, was on hand helping out along with a number of staff and volunteers.
“The Earth Fair is important because it shows people many ways in which we can protect the environment,” Isaacson said.
To that end, a dramatic statement was made by Donna Chernan, who was dressed as the ugly Plastic Bag Monster. Covered from head to toe in plastic bags, she strolled through the fair explaining to people how harmful plastic is to the environment and urging everyone to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic bags.
Other young people also spoke out against environmental impacts. Three teenagers from the New York City chapter of Zero Hour, an international organization, gave out information and spoke with people about global warming.
Rachel Lee said, “Since we are the youth, we face all the effects of climate change and we need to stand up and protect the earth.”
There was also scientific information and presentations at the NVEF.
A very popular exhibition was mounted by Tommy “Tsunami” Pisciotta of Hgh Touch High Tech of Northern New Jersey. A large crowd of children and adults watched with fascination as Pisciotta mixed several ingredients in a large beaker that created an erupting volcano. The kids squealed with wonder and delight as the liquid stream shot into the air.
On the stage outside the school, there was entertainment throughout the afternoon. There were performances by the Nikki Manx Dance Project, a harpist from West Africa, Nate Paul playing the steel drum, Richie Olivera playing the pan flute and a presentation by the Conservatory of Performing Arts.
A highlight of the show was the Thunderbird American Indians, a trio of native Indians from different tribes dressed in colorful costumes, who performed authentic traditional dances and explained their cultural significance.
The leader of the group, Cloud Standing Straight in the Sky, spoke about the importance of nature.
“We are the caretakers of the earth and everything we have and enjoy comes from the earth. I am happy that there are so many exhibits here that can tell you how to do that every day of the year,” said Cloud Standing Straight in the Sky.
Earth Day has been celebrated for nearly 50 years
The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 in the form of a nationwide environmental teach-in. The event was inspired and organized by environmental activist and Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson. Nelson wanted to show other U.S. politicians that there was widespread public support for a political agenda centered on environmental issues. So, he organized a staff to work from his senate office and recruited volunteer college students to help.
The event was wildly successful, sparking Earth Day celebrations at thousands of colleges, universities, schools, and communities all across the United States. An October 1993 article in American Heritage Magazine proclaimed, “…April 22, 1970, Earth Day was…one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy…20 million people demonstrated their support…American politics and public policy would never be the same again.”
Following the Earth Day celebration inspired by Nelson, Congress passed many important environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, as well as laws to protect wilderness areas. The Environmental Protection Agency was created within three years after Earth Day 1970.
The importance of Earth Day today
Over the years, Earth Day became increasingly elaborate, with fairs, parades and lofty resolutions. But as the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers said, it is not enough to dust off our environmental conscience only one day a year. We have a hands on investment in the health of our planet, and without action that investment may well be a losing one. Harmful impacts to our environment—air and water pollution, the plethora of plastic debris, habitat destruction, global warming, overfishing, etc., are not new. What is alarming is the rate at which they are occurring.
As such, environmental awareness and conservation must be the leitmotif of every generation. The message of Earth Day is one of personal responsibility that everyone must share, i.e., to “think globally and act locally” as environmental stewards of planet Earth. It has never been more timely or important.
Photos by Hillary Viders