On Saturday, April 20, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) and the City of Ithaca collaborated to host the 2024 Earth Day Festival on the Ithaca Commons. CCE is a non-profit organization focused on providing Tompkins County residents with information and resources on anything ranging from nutrition to finances and energy efficiency. Jack Wright of CCE described the goal of the festival, which drew more than five hundred people throughout the afternoon, as to generate awareness around the environmental action happening in the Ithaca area and “try to balance the sobering reality of the situation we’re in, while also making it an event that is engaging, fun, and hopefully a little inspiring.”
In the 1960s, with the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, environmental issues emerged as a topic of political conversation in the United States. In 1970, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson helped to organize the first Earth Day, a national day of action primarily led by college students to raise awareness around environmental issues. In the past fifty-four years, Earth Day has become a global phenomenon, increasingly addressing climate change and justice in addition to the more traditional calls for conservation.
With the unanimous passage of the Ithaca Green New Deal in 2019, the City of Ithaca established itself as a national and even global leader in climate justice policy. This landmark legislation was the result of grassroots organizing, largely led by Ithaca College students in Sunrise Ithaca. Nevertheless, as of 2024, there’s still a long way for Ithaca to go to reach its goals and do its part in addressing climate change. However, if one thing is clear from this year’s Earth Day Festival, it is that the community is dedicated to the cause.
Despite the chilly wind, the 2024 Earth Day Festival seemed to remain in high spirits all afternoon, thanks in no small part to the food and upbeat music. Interactive components like a playground, coloring, and puppet shows, helped to make the event family-friendly. Face painting, free secondhand clothing, and the City of Ithaca’s bubble machine seemed particularly popular. In celebration of Earth Day, TCAT bus rides were also free for the day.
Mayor Robert Cantelmo gave a short speech at the Earth Day Festival, saying that he was “proud to be the mayor of the first city to enshrine climate justice into law, to be poised to be the first city to dedicate fifty percent of its capital investments to [climate justice communities], and to realize a Green New Deal that works to solve the social, economic and environmental problems that impact us and our neighbors.”
Over twenty-five different sustainability-focused organizations in Tompkins County had tables on the Commons, talking to passersby about their work. CCE had many tables informing about everything from composting to parenting. One of the programs CCE was trying to raise awareness about is the Non-Pipes Alternatives Program (NPA) for residents of Lansing, where NYSEG is having gas reliability issues. The NPA program offers incentives for people in Lansing to switch to heat pumps or geothermal heating so that the gas line doesn’t have to be expanded.
The festival demonstrated the diversity of approaches to sustainability in Ithaca and Tompkins County. For example, Adriana Sulca of the Ithaca College club Eco Reps spoke of the excessive waste on college campuses and the various programs the Eco Reps run to combat it, including an on-campus free thrift shop and food donations to Ithacans in need.
Matthew Franke-Singer of the First Unitarian Church spoke of its efforts to electrify and weatherize its buildings and of the need for hope when combating the climate crisis. Meanwhile Ingrid Zabel ’83 and Don Haas of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) spoke about their book The Teacher-Friendly Guide to Climate Change and the Museum of the Earth’s exhibits on climate change.
Molly Hajjar of BikeWalk Tompkins advertised its weekly open shop for folks to fix their bikes and its bike lessons of all levels for both youth and adults. BikeWalk Tompkins also sells refurbished bikes on a sliding scale, and works with schools to educate about bike safety.
Sasha Paris of Sustainable Finger Lakes explained that the organization’s work is “based on the understanding that human and environmental issues are intertwined and solutions need to be as well.” She highlighted the Finger Lakes Climate Fund, a carbon offset program that funds electrification for low-income homeowners, and Sustainable Finger Lakes’ mini-grant program that funds a variety of projects in the community.
The Tattler spoke to members of Mothers Out Front Tompkins about how they see their unique role in addressing the climate crisis as an organization of mothers and caregivers. Jorge Defendini explained, “I was motivated and influenced to join because I appreciate the idea of trying to mobilize mothers and caregivers to protect and steward the earth for their children and the generation they’re raising. In particular, I really like the idea that we need to build coalitions across classes, races, and genders.” Bethany Mays noted, “Mothers have moral authority, and if a lot of mothers are angry at the government, that’s a very good signal that the government is messing up.”
Despite their differences, everyone The Tattler spoke to emphasized the importance of youth voices in the push for climate and environmental action. A representative of BlocPower encouraged young people to enter the trade industries, as these are crucial for a green transition and do not require a college degree. Franke-Singer of the First Unitarian Church’s message for high school students was, “You’re not alone. Not everyone is expecting you to fix it all. We’re trying to do what we can as well.” Zabel of PRI noted, “I feel like sometimes kids and teenagers don’t realize their own power. Their voices are very powerful, and if kids and teenagers go to local government meetings, adults really notice. You can do a lot, even if you can’t vote yet. But get ready to vote when you’re old enough.”
While Ithaca is a small city, it is ripe with climate-related organizations made up of passionate people. The 2024 Earth Day Festival showcased this by creating a space for Ithacans to connect around the environmental and social issues that resonate with them.
2024 Earth Day Festival. David Foote