LAWRENCE: Earth Day fest set for Nature Center

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Want to take a guided tour through the meadow and forest that make up the Drexel Woods, at the Lawrence Nature Center?
    How about checking out the winners of the Lawrence Nature Center-sponsored art contest for school children?
    Those are among the activities on tap for children and adults at the Earth Day celebration at the nature center, at the south end of Drexel Avenue, Saturday afternoon. The event, which is free, begins at noon and ends at 4 p.m.
    Steven Groeger, the township’s superintendent of recreation, described Earth Day at the nature center as a small-scale, nature and environmentally oriented version of the township’s annual Community Day celebration.
    “There will be a number of different exhibitors, information and displays,” Mr. Groeger said. “There will be music and entertainment. The Mercer County Wildlife Center is having a wildlife show and display of animals.”
    The Mountain View bluegrass band will play, and light refreshments will be available. The meadow walk, set for 1 p.m., will be led by naturalist Barb Wethe, and the forest hike, set for 4 p.m., will be led by naturalist Rick Dutko.
    The Girl Scouts will present a program on nonpoint source pollution awareness. Nonpoint source pollution is made up of contaminants that run off from the fields into streams and underground aquifers. The presentation is set for 12:30 p.m.
    The Lawrence Intermediate School Parent Teacher Organization plans to take part in the day’s events. It will present the school’s “Going Green” program, which promotes environmentalism.
    Sustainable Lawrence, the Lawrence Greenway, the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, the Friends of Carson Road Woods and the Mercer County Park Commission are among the groups that plan to set up booths, said Lawrence Nature Center volunteer Carol Nicholas.
    Groups as diverse as the Friends of the Trenton Marsh, the Washington Crossing Audubon Society, the Garden Gate Garden Club, the Greater Eldridge Park Neighborhood Association and Students Against Violating the Earth — the Lawrence High School environmental club — also will have booths, Ms. Nicholas said.
    One of the highlights of Earth Day is the dedication of the chimney swift tower — a refuge for the small birds known as chimney swifts — at the Lawrence Nature Center, Mr. Groeger said. The structure, which was built by Eagle Scout candidate Eriks Svarcsberg, will be dedicated to the memory of birdwatcher Eileen Katz at 3 p.m.
    Parking for center activities is available at the Notre Dame High School parking lot. The center’s Web site is www.lawrencenaturecenter.net.