Earth Day Events
9:00 AM – Noon Location: Emerson Nature Center
The day will begin with work in the Emerson Nature Center, from 9 AM until noon. If you have an interest in helping to protect and preserve our natural world, you should consider joining us in our efforts to develop this great resource. To get a good idea of the purpose of the Nature Center, and what you can do to help with the project, take a moment to read the attached Nature Center announcement. If you plan to join us Sunday morning, please shoot me a quick email so we’ll know how many snacks and tools we may need.
11:00 AM Location: Middle School Classroom
Since my last email to you, I’ve met with another one of our amazing, talented parents, an environmental consultant who has great information to share. Marie Gustin, mom of Charlotte (8th grade), Maureen (7th grade) and Laure (4th grade) has agreed to offer us some information about how to stay healthy in a world of increasing toxins and risks. She is a senior environmental consultant and owner of For Life LLC, a company dedicated to improving your health, your environment and your future. Her talk (about 45 minutes with question/answers) will include topics such as;
• Creating a healthy environment at home for yourself and your children
- Improving your nutrition to become healthier and more energetic
- Improving energy levels after a long day or week of work
- Leaving a legacy of health to your kids
Marie also offers consultation about personal care products free from harmful ingredients, and supplements that help to improve health.
1:00 PM Location: Tim’s Science Room
At 1 pm, Mark Hilldebrand, solar energy expert, will host a presentation on the current status and future potential of solar energy. Mark is an Emerson parent and owner of Sunventrix LLC, a solar energy firm. His talk is entitled, “What Can the Sun Do for You?” He will answer questions such as: How does solar work? Is solar viable in Michigan? What can solar do for me and for the planet? Is solar expensive? What's the future of solar? Come learn about solar energy and get these and many more questions answered. Mark will also have his solar powered Chevy Volt available to see, with over 12,000 miles all powered by the sun!
2:00 PM and 3:00 PM Location: Meet at Greenhouse in back of Middle School Tim Wilson will host a 45 minute “Nature Walk” for parents and kids of all ages. The walk will take us around the property and through the Nature Center, where Tim will point out a variety of plants and animal signs, focusing on edible plants, invasives, cool animals sharing our property, early insects and other nature interests.
8:00 PM Location: Our new Astrodome!
Later in the evening, at 8 pm, we will proudly “christen” our newly equipped Astrodome, now complete with solar panel power system (thanks to the Hildebrand family) and our 8” Meade telescope (thanks to the Berger family). This celebration will seguey into an evening of stargazing. The Lowbrow astronomers will be back at Emerson with several fantastic telescopes! The sun sets quite late on the 29th, at about 8:30, so good viewing may be a little later than we might like, but the quarter moon will be up and many stars and galaxies will be visible if conditions allow. Join us any time from 8:00 pm into the evening, for some of the best views of the cosmos that you’ve ever seen. Kids of all ages welcome.
Throughout the day, we will also be working on the Emerson Garden (behind the Middle School), to accomplish some weeding and planting. In addition, we will be offering the chance to plant sunflowers around the perimeter of the school property. Also, Michael Wilson, our new eighth grade teacher, will be inflating his 25 foot planetarium and will be offering a virtual stargazing experience for those brave enough to crawl into this oversized whoopee cushion! Time for this event will be announced later this week.
We hope that you and your family may join us for a part of the day and/or evening on this Earth Day celebration on Sunday, April 29th. Please come celebrate with us if you can!