Monday is Earth Day, number 54 since it began in 1970, and so it is appropriate to push off from indoor activities and turn one’s eyes to dirt and grass, sky and sea. This is no time to lounge about like an indoor cat. No, it is time to prowl the woods or stand stock still at the ocean’s edge and behold.
Behold what? Well, everything, starting with one’s small speck of insignificance when measured against the great wide world rotating on its axis through the eons. Thinking small about oneself is a direct portal to thinking large about the planet.
The stars know this, so do the rocks and waves, the mulch and mushrooms. They have been conversing for centuries, out there beyond the borders of imagination. It is time to join that conversation before it is too late.
Guides abound if you need one. The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club is turning 100 this year. That is a full century of tending to the flora and fauna of the Island so they know their way around the outdoors. Join them Tuesday, April 23 when the club hosts a talk at Polly Hill Arboretum entitled North American Trees and Shrubs in Your Garden. Tim Boland, executive director of Polly Hill, leads the chat, which begins at 1 p.m.
On Sunday, April 21 there is a workshop at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury entitled Soil Health 101 Workshop, led by soil scientist Alli Fish. Learn about all things dirt from 1 to 2:30 p.m.
On Monday, April 22 Slough Farm presents a two-part workshop called Preserving Our Bountiful Spring Blossoms, which delves into nature crafting with farm educator Melinda Rabbitt DeFeo. Showtime is from 5;30 to 7:30 p.m. Or head over to Featherstone Center for the Arts to get a new perspective on the Island at an exhibit entitled Take Flight: A View from Above. The show runs through April 8 and features photography taken from above — by plane or drone or jet pack. The result is a mesmerizing look at where we live.
And next weekend, on Saturday, April 27, the 32nd annual Vineyard Conservation Society beach clean-up takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Anyone interested need only to visit their favorite beach during that day and VCS volunteers will be on hand to provide gloves and bags. Afterwards, from noon to 3 p.m., everyone is invited back to the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for a free lunch donated by local businesses, and to say for the annual Earth Day festival party.
— Bill Eville
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