A group of wide-eyed children kept their eyes pealed on the giant floating earth ball as it soared 100 feet into the air and began dancing in the sky.
The aerial lesson, teaching visitors that Mother Nature always rules, marked the 40th anniversary of Earth Day at IKEA/Erie Basin Park in Red Hook where the Urban Divers Estuary Conservancy launched its series of events on April 25 to inform mom, dad and the kids about how — and why — to keep their neck of the woods clean.
“We are putting nature upfront in peoples’ consciousness,” said Urban Divers’ co-founder Ludger Balan, adding, “We want to foster a new green generation in New York City.”
The day’s spectacles featured a tour aboard the EnviroMedia Mobile, a traveling nature and maritime museum that celebrates and nurtures human ecology, plus activity stations at which visitors could drop off their old junk for recycling, and learn about ways to protect and enhance their communities.
Aztec dancers from the group, “Cetiliztli,” performed a spiritual blessing as added insurance that the weekends will inspire visitors to enjoy and enrich their environment.
Urban Divers’ weekend events at IKEA/Erie Basin Park [Beard and Dwight streets in Red Hook, (347) 224-5828], through Labor Day. For info, visit www.enviromediamobile.blogspot.com.
