Rockport, ME – On Saturday, 19 April from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Plants Unlimited on Route 1 in Rockport will be the scene of a festive gathering of people interested in making their gardens and lives more eco-friendly, experts on organic gardening, prominent local chefs, and a variety of wild animals ranging from an alligator to a hissing cockroach.

Celebrating Earth Day, this free Green Fair will feature talks by leading horticulturalists, presentations by numerous eco-friendly groups, cooking demonstrations, music, children’s activities, and good food. “We wanted to call attention to Earth Day by giving people lots of ways to go green – and have fun at the same time,” says Plants Unlimited owner Hammon Buck. He and his wife Dawn have put together a wide variety of offerings for all ages and levels of interest.

Another speaker will be Jean English, editor of Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener, newspaper of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. English will discuss how to make the switch from conventional to organic vegetable gardening and offer environmentally positive ways to start plants, build soils, minimize pests, and extend the gardening season.

Chef Anne Mahle, co-captain and co-owner of the schooner J. & E. Riggin, cookbook author, and frequent guest on Channel 6’s program 207, will demonstrate how to make pestos, sauces, and other dishes featuring herbs easily grown in this climate. Lani Temple of Megunticook Market will be demonstrating the preparation of herb-marinated beef and chicken kebabs. Like Mahle, Temple is a frequent guest on 207; she is also a columnist for Maine Food & Lifestyle magazine. On hand to help keep people well fed will be Elizabeth Coldren of I Love Pie, who will be selling a variety of seasonal all-natural New England savory and fresh fruit pies. Windplanners, a group of Camden Hills Regional High School students who advocate using sustainable energy at the school, will be selling refreshing drinks; Doug Hufnagel will be selling organic coffee.

In the Kids’ Tent, youngsters will be given free gardening tools and Youthlinks will show them how to plant seedlings and turn recycled soda bottles into birdfeeders they can take home. Face-painters will add to the fun. Staff from Tanglewood 4-H Camp will host several learning experiences that increase kids’ awareness of nature around them. In the Bug Zoo, wildlife educator Tony Sohns will share his infectious enthusiasm for anything that creeps, crawls, slithers, hops, or flies while giving a hands-on look at such critters as a hissing cockroach and a 250-legged giant millipede. Pony Express, which presents educational programs in schools throughout Maine, will bring some of the exotic animals they have rescued, including an alligator, ringtail lemur, and armadillo. Wild-Haven educators Barbara and Tomm Tomlinson will delight all ages with their hawks and owls and invite audience participation. The Bug Zoo and the Tomlinsons’ presentation are both generously sponsored by the Studios of Harry Smith in Camden.

Girl Scouts will be on hand to take orders for composing bins; Five Town Football will be collecting old cellphones and printer cartridges for recycling; and Peopleplace will be collecting gently used baby gear, children’s clothing, maternity clothing, books, toys, skis, bikes and furniture for their upcoming 50/50 Boutique fundraiser. Other exhibitors will include Critter Outfitter and Shepard Motors. Music will be provided in the afternoon by Mr. PC, a group made up of musicians Lincoln Blake, Phil Clement, and Dave Lewis.

Joining Plants Unlimited as sponsors of the Green Fair are Aldermere Farm, Citizens for a Green Camden, Coastal Mountains Land Trust, Merryspring Nature Center, Mid-Coast Audubon Society, The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, Midcoast Solid Waste Corporation, the Natural Resource Council of Maine, and the Maine State Planning Office. National sponsors are Green Plants for Green Buildings, The American Beauties (gardens featuring wildlife-friendly native plants), and Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign.

Green companies that will be represented at the fair include Coast of Maine, makers of organic compost-based specialty soils; Bradfield Organics, makers of fertilizers; Natural Weed ‘n Grass Killer; Serenade Garden Disease Control; Pharm Solutions, Inc., makers of organic pesticides; and Monterey Sluggo Plus, which controls a variety of pests from slugs to cutworms.

For more information and a complete schedule of all the presentations, visit www.plants-unlimited.com

ROCKPORT (March 27 2008)

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