KEEPING IT GREEN: Earth Week 2021 events are geared toward sustainability and allowing scenes like this one, in which a bee visits a New England Aster, to continue.

By Anne Levin

Maybe it’s a result of being cooped up for so long by COVID, but efforts to ensure that this year’s Earth Week makes a significant difference seem especially focused.

Locally, there are numerous opportunities to get involved in Earth Week 2021. From Zoom webinars to hands-on, participatory events, the goal is to raise awareness of the environment’s fragility and do something about it.

In the courtyard of Princeton Shopping Center on Saturday, April 24 from 12-3 p.m., Sustainable Princeton hosts a Sustainable Landscaping Mini-Expo to share the best practices of sustainable landscaping. Among the topics are electric landscaping equipment, organic lawn care techniques, native plants, sustainable landscaping, and mulching.

The Watershed Institute, D&R Greenway Land Trust, and the town’s Shade Tree and Environmental commissions will be on hand. There is plenty of space to socially distance, but attendees are asked to wear a mask.

Also on Saturday, a “Delay is Denial” fossil fuel divestment rally is planned for 1 p.m. starting at Princeton University’s FitzRandolph Gate on Nassau Street. The rally is being held as the University’s Resources Committee moves to recommend that the board of trustees divest the endowment from fossil fuels and reinvest responsibly. “Following its public recommendation in early May, the board is slated to take up the divestment issue sometime in the coming months,” according to divestprinceton.com.

Since last week, the New Jersey Student Sustainability Coalition has been holding events centered on the proposed environmental rights amendment to New Jersey’s constitution.

“The New Jersey Green Amendment would recognize and protect the rights to pure water, clean air, a stable climate, and healthy environments for all people including future generations,” reads a statement from the group. “Organized by and for students for a constitutional amendment that will safeguard our futures, we encourage you to join one or all of these events to learn more and help advance the NJ Green Amendment movement.”

These Zoom events culminate Saturday, April 24 from 12-1 p.m. with an
“Intergenerational Storytelling Workshop for a New Jersey Green Amendment.” Sign up for the workshop at tiny.cc/GA_workshop. For information, visit njstudentsustainability.com.

“Greening Together 2021” is the theme of the Mercer County Sustainability Coalition’s celebration of Earth Week, with events April 24-30 including a scavenger hunt at 10 locations in Lawrence parks, virtual talks and panel discussions on climate change, art as related to climate change, zero waste, clean transportation, and more. Among the organizations participating are local artist Susan Hockaday, The Watershed Institute,
Trenton’s Green Team, and Green Infrastructure Resources.

All events are free, but registration is necessary at mercersustainabilitycoalition.org.

Princeton Public Library and High Meadows Environmental Institute host Harvard University professor Andrew H. Knoll discussing his book A Brief History of Earth with Princeton University professor Adam Maloof on April 22 at 7 p.m.  The event is free. Visit princetonlibrary.org.