With Earth Day a month away, Ormstown resident Lorelei Muller is hard at work organizing an event that will highlight local organizations focused on environmental issues and talk about the environment and climate change. The Earth Day Forum, which will be hosted in partnership with the 1st Ormstown Scouts, will take place at the Ormstown recreation centre on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The day will begin with an hour (9-10 a.m.) for various organizations and government bodies to set up and network with each other. It will then be followed by three hours of panels, booths, hands-on activities, and door prizes. Admission is free for anyone who would like to attend, but there will be a cost for lunch. The Scouts will be making a variety of soups, chilis, and stews – “warm, good stuff in a bowl,” says Muller – which can be purchased for lunch as a fundraiser for the Scouts’ summer trip to a jamboree.
As of now, over a dozen NPOs and government officials have confirmed their presence on the day, including the Marché Fermier du Comté de Huntingdon, Ambioterra, the CDC du Haut-Saint-Laurent, Les Amis de la réserve nationale de faune du Lac Saint-François, The Ormstown Butterflyway Project, and many more. The Genie in a Bottle project will also be present and will be collecting recyclables.
Needs to happen
When Muller started preparing for this event, the organizations and people she reached out to were thrilled to join. Some even reached out to her before she had the chance to ask them to participate.
For Muller, gathering to discuss green initiatives needs to happen at this point. “We’re watching climate change happen around us; let’s all try to figure out what we can do to help with it and cope with it,” she says. And the response she has received aligns with this concern and desire for action: “Based on the reaction we’re getting, we’re not the only ones feeling this!”
Muller is still hoping to find more volunteers for the day of the event; if you are interested, you can contact her at lorelei.coordinator@gmail.com.
