It was like déja vu all over again! Earth Day, Saturday April 22, 2023 dawned almost identically to the same day last year, cold, rain and, wind. Perhaps not quite as cold, but almost. As one of the exhibitors expressed, “It’s the Earth crying about all the horrible things we’ve done to her in the last year.”
Despite the bleak weather there were some hardy souls who opted to ride into the event at Norton Place Park including, Dayle, Lisa, Steve, Stacey, Alina, Ewa, Sonia, Ken, Susan, and me. It’s actually a nice ride as long as you are dressed for the occasion.

Sonia and I even brought the tents and table displays by bike using the Bike Hub’s wonderful cargo bike trailers! These are amazing beasts that can carry long loads and more than 100 lbs.!

Before the event officially started, we held our BEA member meeting where we kicked off our “Graceful Aging Through Connecting with Nature” project. The project, fondly referred to as ‘GATCWN’ has been made possible by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors grant. BEA’s partner groups include Friends & Stewards of Dorchester Park, Heart Lake Turtle Troopers, People Against Littering, Sierra Club Peel, and Friends of Heart Lake.
Check out the list of 26+ partner events that are scheduled now until mid October! Graceful Aging Through Connecting with Nature project.

We also introduced the members of our newly formed Youth Council!

The students were assigned to visit all the booths and ask questions to use this as their first learning opportunity. Several stopped by BikeBrampton to ask Sonia questions about Different Spokes, Brampton Bike Hub and what happens at BikeWrx: Pedalwise mentoring, DIY bike repair, educational workshops, group rides and a great drop-in fun experience!

The ceremony began and closed with a sacred fire by Edge of the Bush including Dr. Hopi Martin.

Despite the cold and rain, 340 folks showed up! 75 of them were seniors, a good start to our GATCWN target of 500. Many families also came to the event.
Participants ate a great lunch, and visited the various environmental booths including:
- BikeBrampton BikeWrx pop-up,
- Heart Lake Turtle Troopers,
- Sierra Club Peel,
- Friends of Dorchester Park,
- People Against Littering,
- Brampton Library,
- Brampton Forestry and Parks Maintenance,
- Brampton Transit e-bus,
- Brampton Animal Shelter,
- Brampton Fire and Emergency Services,
- Brampton Stormwater Programs,
- Toronto and Region Conservation Authority,
- Brampton Horticultural Society,
- PLAST/EarlyON,
- Community Climate Council.
Polly even brought her e-car for the Electric Vehicle Society.
Brampton Environmental Alliance was pleased to be on the committee with City of Brampton to help organize this event. There just has to be better weather next year!