Chicopee promotes preservation with Greenfest

Date: 4/28/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- Chicopee will go green on May 2 with two events happening across the city.

Greenfest, an Earth Day Celebration, will be conducted on May 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chicopee Public Library at 449 Front St. The city will also have its annual parks cleanup.

Stan Walczak, superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department, said this will be the city's 12th year for the clean-up and between 250 and 300 Chicopee youth will be involved in cleaning up trash and leaves from the city's parks.

Walczak said that residents who live near a park are also invited to participate. The clean-up will take place rain or shine.

At the library a number of programs are scheduled for Greenfest including:

a book sale to benefit the library

face painting and crafts for children

ecology-related movies

Chicopee Academy will demonstrate a solar cooker built by students

The Chicopee River Watershed Council will presenting the latest information about the Chicopee River

Greasecar from Holyoke will have on display from noon to 2 p.m. one of its diesel cars that runs on reclaimed vegetable oil

a beetle and butterfly displays.

The Selser School's "Trees are Terrific" display

The Tree Belt Woodcarvers will have some of their hand-carved animals and birds

Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners will also be doing free soil testing and sharing valuable gardening information. For instructions on how to prepare your soil for testing, please go to http://www.wmassmastergardeners.org/soil.htm and scroll to the bottom of the page.