Ocracoke’s pristine beaches, maritime nature trails, village gardens, glorious live oaks and thriving wildlife inspire residents and visitors alike to appreciate and celebrate our beautiful island’s natural places.
This year, to share the love of the island and the rest of the planet, the Ocracoke community is organizing the first annual Ocracoke Earth Day Weekend Celebration.
In collaboration with local and regional individuals and organizations, Ocracoke Alive staff and volunteers have planned a weekend of information and fun April 19 and 20.
“We want to strike a balance between celebrating the beauty around us, while also offering discussions about the threats to the coastal environment and learning about practical and sustainable solutions to these threats,” said Ocracoke Alive director David Tweedie.
The celebration will begin on Friday, April 19,with an afternoon tour of the Island Inn Commons. Reide Corbett, Ph.D., director of East Carolina University’s Coastal Studies Institute, will be the weekend’s keynote speaker.
As the dean of Integrated Coastal Programs, Corbett leads an interdisciplinary team of faculty and staff from across ECU’s campuses that integrates the fields of engineering, maritime history, natural and social sciences.
Corbett will present “North Carolina’s Changing Coast: Sea level, Storms, and People” at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Ocracoke Community Center.
Weekend events offer many choices, indoors and out, for all ages including nature walks, history talks, gardening, nature crafts, live music, stargazing, a village litter pick-up, and many informative discussions and presentations about sustainability and solutions. The weekend ends with a community beach fire (with s’mores) at Ocracoke’s lifeguard beach.
First held on April 22, 1970, Earth Day is an annual national event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection,
The following activities are planned:
Friday, April 19
3:45 p.m. Ocracoke Earth Day Parade from Ocracoke Library to Ocracoke Commons. Those interested in participating should assemble at the library at 3:30 p.m.
4 p.m. Ocracoke Earth Day Welcome/Tour of Island Inn Commons.
5:30 p.m. Meet your Ocracoke fisherman & tour the Ocracoke Seafood Company.
7 p.m. Friday Night Concert featuring Bob and Jeanie Zentz. Deepwater Theater
8:45 p.m. Stargazing & Celestial Navigation, Lifeguard beach. Bring binoculars if you want.
Saturday, April 20
8 a.m. Bird Walk with Peter Vankevich. NPS Campground parking lot.
8 a.m. Help planting & Beautifying at the British Cemetery, Sundae Horn.
10 a.m. Trash to Treasure with Ella Ralston. Ocracoke Library
11 a.m. Student Presentation: Surveying Stream Watch Presentation with Ocracoke 8th grade class, Karen Teklinsky. Community Center
Noon. Latino Community Migrations to North Carolina, Daniel Velásquez. Community Center
Noon. Nature & Garden Crafts for Families, Sundae Horn, Ocracoke Community Library
1 p.m. Local Food and Resilience in Eastern NC: Past, Present, and Future, Carla Norwood & Gabriel Cumming. Community Center
1 p.m. Trash Pickup on Ocracoke Beach
2 p.m. Ocracoke Ponies: Past and Present, Ocracoke Preservation Society Porch Talk
3 p.m. Panel Discussion on Ocracoke Sustainability and Solutions Bevin Hardy & Heidi Smith, Community Center
5 p.m. Green Energy Solutions Gustave Younggren, Community Center
7 p.m. Keynote Speaker Reide Corbett from Coastal Studies Institute of Eastern NC
8 p.m. Earth Day Open Mic & Dance Party, Deepwater Theater.
Sunday, April 21
8 a.m. Yoga at the Community Square Docks with Desiree Adams
9 a.m. Island Gardening & Medicinal Herbs with Kate McNally & Joseph Ramunni. Ocracoke Garden Center
10 a.m. Ocracoke Fig Talk, Sundae Horn & Chester Lynn. Ocracoke Preservation Society
11 a.m. Shores of Resilience: Navigating Climate Change in Coastal Communities, Bevin Hardy. Community Center
Noon: Island Pollinators with Denise Deacon. Community Center
Noon: Trash to Treasure with Ella Ralston. Ocracoke Library
1:30 p.m. Nature Walk and history talk at Springer’s Point with Kane Lawhorn & Philip Howard
2 p.m. “Trashion” Show, Ella Ralston. Ocracoke Library
3:30 p.m. Community Beach Bonfire & Smores, and Earth Day Ocracoke farewell (Rain location: Community Center)
Here are links for the festival:
Webpage ~ https://www.ocracokealive.org/earthday.html
Online Schedule ~ https://ocracokeearthdaycelebration.sched.com/editor/schedule
Printable Schedule ~ https://ocracokeearthdaycelebration.sched.com/print
