In celebration of Earth Day tomorrow, Wednesday April 22nd, Mayor Carl Hokanson will be available at his office between 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. to present young visitors with free packets of seeds.
Roselle Park children 12-years-old and younger will be able to walk in to Borough Hall and sit with Mayor Hokanson to talk about Earth Day and the borough’s latest green initiative to have its own Community Garden. The Roselle Park Community Garden started last Saturday, just in time for Earth Day. The garden is located on Valley Road and puts the ability to grow local, fresh produce in the hands of residents, including the mayor who purchased a parcel.
Earth Day is celebrating its 45th anniversary and is considered the birth of the modern environmental movement. Founded by United States Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, the first Earth Day had 20 million Americans taking to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. It achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, conservative and liberal, farmers and city dwellers.
Mayor Hokanson related that moment to Roselle Park today, saying, “Like in 1970, the community garden shows what we – as Parkers – can do when we work together. It doesn’t matter if you have a D or an R after your name, it doesn’t matter if you have lived here all your life or just moved in, it doesn’t matter if you are young or old. This is our home and we all have a hand in taking care of it. I’m just doing my part.”
The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. In 1990, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. For his dedicated work, Senator Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 – the highest honor given to civilians in the United States.
The photograph above is of Roselle Park’s Community Garden groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday, April 18th. Mayor Hokanson’s office is located on the second floor of Borough Hall.