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MAY 2, 2001
    1 – Catch the Fever
    2 – Adventures for Teens
    3 – What's In a Name?
    4 – Curb Your Car
    5 – Garden Restoration

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1 - Catch the Fever
Starve a cold, digitize a fever. That’s the Center for Ecological Technology’s message urging you to replace mercury thermometers with digital versions. Along with the Children’s Health Program CET aims to protect youngsters from the dangers of accidental mercury exposure from broken fever thermometers. One if four children in this country are exposed to unsafe levels of mercury. CET has established an exchange program whereby families may exchange mercury thermometers for a digital one. The Town of Great Barrington's mercury products collection shed then recycles the mercury. Local fifth and sixth grade students at Hancock School in Berkshire County chipped in by hanging up posters announcing the exchange program, searching the school for items containing mercury, and participating in hands-on lessons about mercury pollution and its causes. Check out CET’s new handout "Mercury in our Environment: A Health & Environmental Hazard." The publication explains the health risks from mercury and lists household products that may contain mercury as well as prevention information. For more information on CET's mercury programs, call (413) 445-4556 or visit www.cetonline.org.

2 - Adventures for Teens
"I'm bored, there's nothing to do." Before that becomes either your teenager’s whine this summer, explore the Appalachian Mountain Club’s summer offerings. Teen Wilderness Adventures offers 12 to 18 year olds a variety of activities, including backpacking, canoeing, sea kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and trail work. Two programs are new this year: Women's Adventures, a program designed specifically for teen women, and Youth Explorations, an introduction to extended outdoor adventures for 12-13 year olds. Scholarships providing financial assistance are still available for the Wilderness program. For more information visit
http://www.outdoors.org/Outdoors/Teen-Wild/index.html.

3 – What’s in a Name?
Darling Needle, six other peaks, and 7500 acres of land were added to the Green Mountain National Forest thanks to The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the U.S. Forest Service. Formerly owned by the Stanley Tool Company, this parcel includes crucial black bear habitat and, as part of the 375,000 acre national forest, many hiking trails and recreation areas. In New Hampshire, TPL has also completed another uniquely named project, the purchase of 87 acres along the pristine shores of Kusumpe Pond near Squam Lake. TPL has worked on protecting the shores of Kusumpe for the past year, helping to raise just over $1.1 million in gifts and pledges to acquire and protect 339 acres and 5,500 feet of the pond's shoreline. For more information on these and other land conservation efforts, visit www.tpl.org.

4 - Curb Your Car
In the next few months, most of us will take at least a few days of much-needed vacation time. Why not give your car a break, too? On Friday, May 4, many Vermonters will participate in "Curb Your Car Day," co-sponsored by the Lake Champlain Committee. The event is a way for commuters to help reduce air and water pollution by using alternative modes of transportation to get to work. Why not try carpooling, biking, rollerblading, or even telecommuting for the day? Last year, over 2,000 people participated by giving their car the day off, collectively saving 122,000 miles of driving, 116,000 pounds of air pollution, 5,100 gallons of gas, and $7,600 in gas costs. For more info call the Lake Champlain Committee at 802-658-1405. (By the way, you don’t have to live in Vermont to curb your car for a day—try it tomorrow!)

5 - Garden Restoration
Each spring, we spot our neighbors going through the ritual of replanting flowerbeds and giving their garden a makeover. The Preservation Society of Newport County is engaged in a bit of a garden project as well. This project, though, is more than one and half years in the making. Begun in 1999, the restoration of The Elms Sunken Garden, a Classical Revival landscape design from the early 20th century, will be complete this summer in time for The Elms centennial celebration on August 4. The Garden was originally laid out between 1907 and 1914 and includes interlocking terraces and pathways and a park of specimen trees planted in informal groups to frame views of the house, garden buildings and fountains. The Garden also features Italian Renaissance-style fountains, two 18th-century French-style marble pavilions, and a sunken garden of boxwood, euonymus and flowerbeds. For more information on this comprehensive rehabilitation, visit www.newportmansions.org.

EARTH DAY ONLINE Was a Success!
Visitors to Earth Day Online during our month-long celebration more than doubled compared to last year! Thank you to everyone that visited early and often and passed along the word to colleagues, friends, and family. Don't forget that all Earth Day Online features can be accessed throughout the year, including "Fun Things to Do," "Green Tips," e-mailable postcards, and "Eco-Survivor." Just stop by www.EarthDayOnline.org anytime!

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