Earth Day 2016

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Visitors of all ages enjoyed free programs and celebrated the natural world.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Families explored our 80-acre grounds and discovered indigenous flora and fauna.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

New Canaan Nature Center taught us about the threatened American Kestrels living on our grounds, for which we introduced a nesting box recovery program.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Visitors learned about the many different types of birds that live in the Northeast.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Local farmers, bakers, and composters shared expertise and sold products and services in a pop-up market on the Plaza.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Simpaug Farms

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Arogya Tea & Holistic Healing

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Wave Hill Breads

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Did you know that Grace Farms is the first organization in New Canaan, Connecticut to participate in Curbside Compost and New England Compost's food scrap recycling program? This service picks up waste and delivers decayed, organic plant fertilizer back to residents and businesses in Fairfield County. Special thanks to townvibe for introducing us to these great local companies at last year’s Green Awards.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Panelists drew connections between capitalism, climate change, and human trafficking in the Sanctuary.

"We are seeing growing evidence that the same people and organizations that violate our environmental rule also violate labor laws." —Krishna Patel, Grace Farms Foundation's Justice Initiative Director.

"Capitalism is rooted in Justice; people do well by doing good." —Martin Whittaker, JUST Capital

"If slavery were a country, it would be the third largest carbon emitter behind China and the USA." —Ben Skinner

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Experts discussed how to ensure that our water supply remains clean and available to everyone in the Library.

"If a plentiful supply of oil defined the last period, a scarcity of water will define the next period." —Matthew J. Diserio

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Volunteers from New Canaan Beautification League planted a Community Garden filled with usable produce, which is harvested to share with food banks and for use by Commons Manager Neena Perez in the Commons.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

The community gathered together for an exciting falconry demonstration featuring birds of prey in the North Pines.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Our youngest visitors dynamically accumulated dynamic accumulators—deep-rooted plants, like these dandelions, which draw nutrients and minerals from the soil and store them in their leaves.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Culturally curious visitors experienced nature at the extremes of scale through Kysa Johnson's temporary exhibition on view in the Pavilion.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Grace Farms Foundations's Arts Initiative Director Kenyon Adams and artist Kysa Johnson discussed her immersive installation, Landscape Continuum.

Photo: © Vanessa Van Ryzin, 2016

Kysa Johnson, Landscape Continuum

Children and families participated in collaborative, hands-on workshops in the West Barn.

Some even went underground to discover the energy-efficient geothermal well system, which heats and cools our SANAA-designed River building.

Guests learned about artist Olafur Eliasson and engineer Frederik Ottesen’s, Little Sun project, which brings sustainable light to those in the world without electricity.

We met owls in the meadows ...

admired blooming crabapple trees in the North Pines ...

danced in the West Barn ...

... and last, but not least, celebrated the freedom flight of a rehabilitated red tailed hawk, which Wildlife in Crisis, Inc. returned to nature.

Grace Farms Foundation's Nature Initiative Director Mark Fowler reported that our feathered friend is doing well, just-in-case you were wondering!