Lopez Gardeners and Creatures invite Orcasians to celebrate Earth Day!

Inter-island Garden Projects: Lopez Island Garden Work Party and Creature Parade, April 22 10:30 am-3 pm

Lopez Creature Procession 2011

From Callie Blue

We need your help!

Our community garden which is located in the middle of the Lopez Village is shared in nine plots amongst 20 some people (including their children). We also have two chicken flocks in the garden. We are onto our second work party of the season and we are looking for help!

We will mainly be setting fence posts and taking out bushes.This is great opportunity to connect with some of the Lopez Community over hard work. A potluck lunch will be provided by the Lopez crew.

Later in the day is where the real fun begins when we all get dressed up in our species costumes to be a part of a great Lopez Earth Day celebration! At 4 p.m. the Procession Of The Species will gather and commence in the field across from the garden. This was so much fun last year! Even if you choose not to participate, staying to watch the parade is totally worth while. Over a 100 Island folk came last year dressed to honor their favorite species and it was fantastic! We played music and danced through the streets in a huge procession. It was a fun and exciting way to celebrate the Earth and I recommend everyone joins us!

Ferry Schedule: Leave Orcas 9:15am gets to Lopez at 9:50am (enough time to get coffee at Isabel’s)  Leave Lopez 7:30pm gets to Orcas 8:45pm

What to bring: Water, Instruments, Work Clothes, Plate/Bowl/Spoon (if you remember), species costume (eg. I am going to be a flying squirrel, Kyra is going to be a Amenita Muscaria Mushroom), your lovely self and all your friends!

The first Procession of the Species Celebration in 2011 was sponsored by the Lopez Island Conservation Corps (LICC) and Lopez Island Prevention Coalition (LIPC). The Procession of the Species is a widespread event throughout the world to celebrate Earth Day and the great diversity of life on the planet.

Participants choose a species to represent and create a costume or display, and over 100 Lopezians attended representing life from sea anemones to sea turtles and lily pads to owls. The founders in Olympia have encouraged the spread of this celebration to other communities and provided three guidelines to follow: no motorized vehicles, no pets, no written words. Olympia organizer, Eli Sterling, attended and supported the Lopez celebration with art and inspiring words at the volunteer appreciation ceremony.

I am very interested in strengthening our inter-island relationship and feel work parties are a nice place to start. I have attended a couple over on Orcas with friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to work and connect with folks from my neighboring Island.

Learner Limbach, FoodMasters organizer on Orcas Island, said recently, “This spring a crew of Lopez friends came over to Orcas to help expand the public school garden. Let’s return the favor this Sunday and continue to build on the beginnings of our symbiotic inter-island relationship!”