Monadnock Earth Festival

Our Web of Life

Saturday, April 25th, 11am - 4 pm
Railroad Square on Main Street in Keene

The Monadnock Earth Festival Committee proudly announces the 9th Annual Monadnock Earth Festival on Saturday, April 25th from 11am to 4pm at Railroad Square on Main Street in Keene. This event culminates the local Earth Week celebrations. There will be an array of local speakers, workshops and demonstrations highlighting the theme "Our Web of Life" and our connections to the world around us. In addition, there will be local farmers, businesses, organizations and vendors selling products, giving information and showcasing local initiatives. Children's activities will be ongoing throughout the Festival. The event closes at 4pm with a raffle drawing for a Zapino Electric Scooter to benefit The Sustainability Project. This free event is open to the public. Kids activities will be available throughout the day. Come, rain or shine, and help celebrate our special place in the Monadnock Region!

Schedule of Events

11 am
Opening Address
Philip Dale Pregent, Mayor of Keene

Integrating Sustainability and Health: Why It Matters Here and Now
Nora Traviss, PhD will give an overview of sustainability initiatives in the Monadnock region, focusing on connections between KSC, Antioch and the local community. She will touch on the importance of integrating sustainability and health in how we connect to the larger web of life in our region. Nora is an Assistant Professor in the new Environmental Studies department at Keene State College.

11:30 and 2:30
Compost Relay (for kids)
Can you sort it? Learn what goes in your compost with this fun game. Then, get an up-close and personal look at some compost. Find out tips and tricks for starting your own compost pile. Led by ANE's Jess Skinner and Amber Evans

12 pm
The Earth Dancer School of Dance of Jaffrey, NH presents the Free Spirits Dance Company performing, "Ocean Adventures". Ballet, Lyrical, Modern, Jazz, and Break dances will be performed by students age 4 through 18 under the direction of Stephanie Ann Scherr.

12:30pm and 2pm
Every Tree for Itself (for kids)
Learn how trees are alive and are very much, like humans, affected by their surrounding environment. To study a tree is almost akin to studying ourselves; what makes it grow, how long it lives, how it stays healthy. We will examine a tree's rings and playing a small game focusing on what trees need to survive. Led by ANE's Andrew Glikin and Lauren Schottenfeld.

1 pm
Rockhopper Outdoor Education presents World Wildlife. Come see Rockhopper's trained animal ambassadors as they bring science to life. Learn about the role these animals, primarily unwanted pets, would play in their native ecosystems and how they compare to our New England wildlife.

4 pm
Zapino electric scooter raffle drawing! The battery-powered Zapino quietly reaches speeds of about thirty mph, making it perfect for city transportation. Proceeds benefit The Sustainability Project and their creation of wheelchair accessible trails in the Emerson Brook Forest in Gilsum, NH. Tickets are available during the Festival at the TSP table for $20.

Festival Tables

Travel Demand Management Advocacy Group
With Good Reasons - organic granola and treats
The Sustainability Project
Monadnock Community Gardening and Seed Saving Initiative
Green Energy Options Solar Store
Antioch Student Alliance
Whole Terrain
Marlborough Energy Committee
New Hampshire Carbon Challenge
Cities for Climate Protection Committee
Kinesis Energy Group
New England Coalition for Sustainable Population
Monadnock Mindfulness Center
Keene Senior Center
Keene Unitarian Universalist's Green Sanctuary
Monadnock Ecological Research and Education Project
Cheshire County Conservation District
Monadnock Farm and Community Connections - Keene co-op committee
Tracie's Community Farm
The Orchard School
Village Roots CSA
24 Carrots
C&S Wholesale Grocers
Pathways for Keene
Wild Nights - Wild Silk Moth Breeding & Study
Working Families Win - Green Collar Economy Book Club
Abenaki Springs Farm
Home-Efficiency Resources
Fotos Buy Skot

Events Throughout The Week

Saturday, April 18

Green Up Keene 8am-noon
Join the City of Keene to kick off Earth Week with a trash pick up. Green Up teams will meet up at the Keene Public Works Department headquarters at 350 Marlboro St at 8 am to get pick up bags, coffee and food will also be available. More information

Sunday, April 19

5k Run/Walk
Race starts at 10am (Registration 8:30 - 9:30am)
Meet at The Center of Keene shopping area located at 149 Emerald Street in Keene. Download a registration form here or pick one up at Ted's Shoe and Sport on Main Street in Keene. Contact Natalie Gertz for more information.
Entrance Fee: $20 Ages 15 & under, 16-28, 29-40, and 41 +
Race Timed by : Tri-State Racing Services
Prizes awarded to overall top male and female finisher and top male and female finishers in each age group.
Proceeds benefit the Monadnock Earth Festival

Tuesday, April 21

Weaving Energy Conservation into Your Life, Green Energy Options, 79 Emerald Street, Keene
5-6:30pm
Valerie Piedmont and Pablo Fleischmann, owners of Green Energy Options Solar Store and founders of The Sustainability Project share their formative experience as homesteaders in the Emerson Brook Forest. Learn about energy conservation, solar electric and solar hot water systems, heating alternatives, rainwater collection, composting and edible forest gardening. For more information contact: Pablo or Valerie at 603-358-3444, geo@usasolarstore.com

Thursday, April 23

Wetland Cleanup (near ANE bike path)
11:30am-12:30pm
Join us as we clean up the wetland area behind the school near the bike path. Help beautify this area enjoyed by students and the public. Bring gloves and boots or waders if you have them. Garbage bags will be provided. Meet in the downstairs lobby at Antioch.

Evening Walk at Goose Pond with Tom Wessels
5-6:30pm, Meet at Goose Pond (map)
Join naturalist and Antioch University New England professor Tom Wessels for an evening stroll around Goose Pond to look for signs of spring! Bring along binoculars if you have them.

Beyond Denial (film and discussion), Keene Public Library
7pm
Join Antioch Masters Student Jessica Zane for a showing of her documentary “Beyond Denial: The Emotional Terrain of Climate Change.” This short (approx. 20 minute) documentary explores the emotional responses people have to climate change. Climate change cannot be solved with only technical solutions, using only our rational minds. A critical part of meeting the future will also require our emotional selves. In order to do that, the first step is find out what that emotional landscape looks like. Discussion will follow. Film will be shown in The Keene Public Library Auditorium

Friday, April 24

Primitive Skills Workshop with Chris Wood
4:30pm
Local and expert craftsman, Chris Wood, will be leading a friction fire workshop. Friction fire is one method to make fire without using a match or lighter. The bow drill is considered to be one of the easier methods to make fire by using friction. This method was used by the Native Americans in the Northeast. After a brief discussion of the components and materials, Chris will then do a demonstration of the process. Participants will also get a chance to experiment with some of the bow drill sets. At the end of the event bow drill sets will be for sale for $20. Meet in front of Antioch New England.

Watch a video of Nick Spadaro from the Maine Primitive skills school as an overview of the process.

Birding, Ashuelot Park
6pm
Join naturalist Peter Davenport for an evening bird walk in beautiful Ashuelot park on West St. in Keene. We will be looking for woodcocks and their distinct evening displays! Bring binoculars and bird guides if you have them. Meet at Antioch New England and walk over at 6pm or at Ashuelot park at 6:10pm

Saturday, April 25th

Birding, Ashuelot Park
7am
Join naturalist Peter Davenport for an early morning bird walk in beautiful Ashuelot park on West St. in Keene. Great the day with the birds! Bring binoculars and bird guides if you have them. Meet at Antioch New England and walk over at 7am or at Ashuelot park at 7:10am

Sunday, April 26th

Earth Stewardship, Emerson Brook Forest, Gilsum, NH
9am - 3pm
Join in the playful work of creating a wheelchair accessible center in the Emerson Brook Forest. If you have them, bring your favorite tool and work gloves. If you aren't able to do the physical aspects of the day, come anyway, and share your creative self-- music, poetry and visions for a sustainable future! Work in the Emerson Brook Forest is always a social event! Invite your educational, civic or religious group to participate in this satisfying ongoing effort.

*Additional planned workdays from 9 am -3 pm: Sunday, April 26th, Saturday, May 16th and Sundays, June 7th, August 2nd, and September 13th

For more information about the April 25th Festival or any of the Earth Week events, please contact: Lenoir McDougal: lmcdougal@antioch.edu or 802-376-4256