Town of Babylon’s Annual Earth Day Celebration to be Held Saturday

The Town of Babylon’s annual Earth Day Celebration will be held this Saturday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park on the east side of Town Hall, located at 200 East Sunrise Highway in Lindenhurst. 

This year’s event is set to be the Town’s biggest celebration in years, with a large number of vendors scheduled to be on hand with informational booths and presentations, officials said. 

Among those scheduled to be in attendance are Covanta Babylon, Suffolk County Community College, Vivant Solar, 511 NY Ride Share, and many more. There will also be schools and local community groups on hand to display their environmental science and community service projects.

At noon, Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer and members of the Town Board will announce the 10 winners of the 2014 Babylon Covantage EcoTech Scholarship Contest. Over 50 projects were submitted this year from school districts across the Town, from grades 8 to 12. The winners of this year’s scholarship prizes hail from different districts in the Town, including Babylon Junior-Senior High, North Babylon High School, Deer Park School District and Copiague Middle School. 

This scholarship program is a public/private partnership between the Town and Covanta, which operates the energy-from-waste facility in West Babylon. It is designed to encourage students who are doing science fair projects or advanced study projects in environmental science courses to focus on renewable energy sources, greenhouse gas reduction, development of alternative building materials or any other means to reduce global warming and environmental degradation.

Guests are encouraged to bring along their old sneakers as students from Suffolk County Community College will be hosting a booth for Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, which recycles used athletic shoes to be used for sports courts and playing surfaces in inner-cities. Athletic shoes and sneakers of all brands can be donated but no shoes containing metal, dress shoes or cleats will be accepted.  

At the event, the Town will also be showcasing the numerous environmental initiatives being taken in our area, including the successful Long Island Green Homes program, the Geiger Lake Park Redevelopment, and storm water management programs, among others. There will also be free giveaways of items such as recycled grocery bags. Representatives from the West Babylon Main Street Organization will be selling plants for Mother’s Day.

For more information, contact Rich Groh of the Town of Babylon Department of Environmental Control at 631-422-7640.