Tinicum’s Environmental Action Committee (EAC) collaborated with the Parks & Recreation Board to host a first-ever Earth Day Fair on a windswept, sunny April 22 — the annual date of Earth Day.
The event venue — Tinicum Township Community Park off Route 611 in Ottsville — is a former driving range and a hidden gem of a community-owned space — one that many attendees said they had never heard of before.
EAC member and Earth Day Fair Chairperson Cindi Gasparre was pleased with the choice of location, stating, “By holding events like this, we’re able to showcase the array of amenities our township has to offer the community.”
Within a festive, live music ambiance, 14 local vendors and organizations manned their white tents, displaying curated wares and shared eco-information. The breadth and depth of their content felt well-suited for Earth Day.
“For a first-time-ever event, our vendors took a bighearted leap of faith with us by electing to spend a half day in a booth,” stated Gasparre. “Their feedback to date has been rewardingly positive as we look towards next year!” Even though the fair was held in direct competition with Lambertville’s 40-year-old ShadFest, attendance topped a healthy 100 people.
Fred Beans Subaru showed off its very first electric vehicle, the Solterra, direct from its Doylestown showroom. Wehrung’s provided free game supplies for kids to play miniature golf at the park, one of the many kid-oriented activities.
Gasparre noted, “It’s particularly important to raise awareness with our children, to teach them how to incorporate eco-practices in their daily lives. Recycling, composting, native plantings, it’s all part of our goal here.”
With ground well-water locator maps and test equipment samples, members of the Bridgeton-Nockamixon-Tinicum Groundwater Committee, a joint municipality operation, were thrilled to have an opportunity to speak with residents about their critical water safety work. Upper Bucks Regional EMS’ truck kicked off its May subscription renewal drive and gave out emergency information vials for residents to store in their refrigerators, listing medications, doctors and contact numbers.
Township Supervisor Eleanor Breslin stated, “This township park looked very untended until recently. Through a grant we secured to enhance the wetlands buffer, we were able to partner with the Department of Public Works to remove 25 30-foot telephone poles with old torn netting that had been used for the old driving range. That infringement on natural foliage growth is gone now, allowing Tinicum Park’s beauty to take center stage once again.”
Currently, there is no Tinicum budget line for events like the Earth Day Fair. Community events have been mounted solely through the generosity and donations of Tinicum volunteers. When the board moves into its fall budget planning season, Breslin holds out hope for targeted local event funding.
“Over the past year, Tinicum’s volunteer committees have successfully established a robust event track record. As these gatherings are all about community, we should be supporting more opportunities for us to come together like this.”
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