Aquidneck Island Earth Week returns this month

This year’s event features more than 40 events

Posted 4/3/23

AQUIDNECK ISLAND — With more than 40 events, this year’s Aquidneck Island Earth Week (AIEW) will be the biggest yet. 

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Aquidneck Island Earth Week returns this month

This year’s event features more than 40 events

Posted

AQUIDNECK ISLAND — With more than 40 events, this year’s Aquidneck Island Earth Week (AIEW) will be the biggest yet. 

The program officially kicks off on Saturday, April 22, but local organizations are ramping up all month with special events and activities to engage the public in environmental awareness and action. 

AIEW Director Sara Poirier said that over the last four months, partners have been collaborating on ideas for programming. Organizers include non-profits, schools, local businesses, art studios, and town committees. 

“We’re excited to see so many new programs this year, including a Science Day at Sachuest Wildlife Refuge, cleanup events at Fort Adams and the Big Blue Bike Barn, a seaweed pressing demonstration at Saltwater Studio, and a preservation expo at Middletown’s Paradise Park,” Poirier said.

Returning favorites include tree giveaways, an electric cars showcase, rain barrel workshops, art exhibits, and film screenings. 

A goal of Aquidneck Island Earth Week is to strengthen the network of organizations working on issues related to the environment, conservation, and sustainability. By coming together to promote a shared calendar of environmentally-themed activities, partners hope to amplify each other’s efforts, increase engagement around environmental issues, and serve as an example for other communities. 

“Living on an island, there’s an awareness of our connection with nature and the environment. The quality of life that we enjoy here depends on keeping the whole system in balance. Aquidneck Island Earth Week is about working together to take care of the things that we love and celebrating the good work that’s happening in the community,” Poirier said.

The Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District (ERICD) is extending Earth Week to Earth Month with a variety of events planned in Portsmouth, Tiverton, Middletown, Barrington, Bristol and Newport. 

Two events will be held at Greenvale Vineyards, 582 Wapping Road. Comedy for Conservation, an evening of clean comedy to benefit the environment, will be held at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Comedian Ashley Gutermuth will headline the show, which benefits ERICD.

Doors open 45 minute before each show, which has open seating in the newly updated tasting room. Wine will be available for purchase; register here.

An Earth Day Seedling Sale runs from 9 a.m. to noon at Greenvale and will feature native and non-invasive plants for pre-order and pickup. Pre-order online here.

If you’d like to volunteer to sort seedlings for the sale, come to the vineyard from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the day before. The process consists of sorting the seedlings together into bundles of five, packing them in compostable bags with soil. Stay for as short as long as you want. You might get a little dirty, so wear gardening clothes. For more information, go here.

For Aquidneck Earth Week program information and registration, visit www.aquidneckearthweek.com.

To get involved, e-mail aquidneckislandearthweek@gmail.com.

Activity sheets for schools and families are available for download at www.aquidneckearthweek.com/schools.

Follow Aquidneck Island Earthweek on Facebook and Instagram for program updates.

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.