Locals go green on Earth Day

Orange County was painted green this weekend as Earth Day’s 35th anniversary brought about a flurry of activity.

Two local events held in honor of the national holiday were the Earth Action Fest on Sunday, consisting of a march down Franklin Street and an activities fair at the Lincoln Center on Merritt Mill Road, and the Piedmont Farm Tour, which gave attendees the chance to visit 30 local small farms all weekend.

Many organizers and attendees said such programs are needed to raise environmental awareness.

“We’re here to educate,” said Brian Kinahan, chairman of the festival’s planning committee.

“If people believe both that there are problems and that there are actually solutions, we can make some progress.”

Kinahan said he was pleased with the attendance at the first year of Earth Action Fest.

About 50 people gathered in McCorkle Place before the march Sunday afternoon. By the time the crowd reached the fair, chanting all the way, that number was more than 100.

Featured at the fair were about 60 booths that offered everything from information about energy efficiency and hybrid vehicles to naturally produced goods and food.

Kinahan said organizers will donate some of the money raised by the booths to Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools for the purchase of green power, or energy derived from renewable sources.

University sophomore Lauren Dunbar said she hopes the event will bring attention to what she thinks is an important cause.

“A lot of people think (the environmental movement) is dead,” she said.

“But they need to understand that it’s still very much alive, and they need to be aware of its changing issues.”

Many of those topics were also touched on at the Piedmont Farm Tour, held Saturday and Sunday afternoons on farms throughout Orange County and surrounding areas.

“The average distance food travels from the farm to the plate is 1,500 miles, producing high fuel costs, air pollution and a number of other environmental problems,” said Tony Kleese, executive director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, a tour sponsor.

“The practices of the farms we feature are environmentally sound.”

The tour gives farmers the chance to show how locally produced goods are better than mass-produced ones, said Portia McKnight, co-owner of the Chapel Hill Creamery.

“It’s a real opportunity for us to explain to our customers what goes into our product,” she said.

Visitors of the creamery viewed cows, saw milking demonstrations and pasteurization and were able to buy fresh cheese.

Pittsboro resident Pamela Hirsch said the tour was enlightening.

“A lot of people who buy things at the store have no idea where their food comes from or how it’s made,” she said.

Kleese said such knowledge might bring about change.

“People should be an activist with every bite,” he said. “It can be more powerful than the vote.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.