Green Fair Offers Variety of Ways to Help Environment

By MADDY VITALE Madeline Heng and fellow students who are involved in Ocean City High School’s Environmental Association joined others who are environmentally conscious for a Green Fair at the Music Pier on Friday. “We want people to see that art can be made out of recyclable items,” Madeline, 17, of Ocean City, said. Madeline and her brothers, Josh, 15, and Joseph, 14, also Environmental Association members, enjoy educating the public about nature. Some members of the Environmental Association created arts and crafts from toilet rolls. Butterflies and fish were made out of the recycled materials, which caught the eye of some attendees. Displays such as this one detail the damage of litter to marine life. Alessia Brinson, 5, of Philadelphia, pointed to the butterflies to show her grandmother, Myra Brinson, who smiled as Madeline Heng and the other Environmental Association members showed the little girl some of the crafts. “The main purpose is to stress the importance of recycling and at the same time, show people anything can be made into art as long as you are creative,” Madeline said. Each year, the Green Fair features organizations, businesses and groups with the purpose of educating the public about a variety of things, including ways to help preserve the environment, live a more sustainable lifestyle and be as energy efficient as possible. “The Green Fair helps raise awareness about the importance of our future and the environment,” Stephen Hincken, 17, of Ocean City, also a member of the Environmental Association said. Attendees saw displays that detailed the length of time it takes for debris to break down that can affect marine life. Environmental Commission Chairman Rick Bernardi shows a wheel attendees could spin to play a game for prizes. Exhibitors included The Wetlands Institute, Clean Ocean Action, Atlantic City Electric, New Jersey American Water, South Jersey Gas, Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority and others. Representatives of Ocean City included the Green Team, Environmental Commission and Shade Tree Commission, The fair is sponsored by the Ocean City Environmental Commission and the city. The commission plays a key role in that process by educating the public about the ocean, the beaches, the dunes and the marine life. Rick Bernardini, the Environmental Commission chairman, said, “The crowd is a little bit smaller this year, but the kids (from the school’s Environmental Association) are having fun making crafts. We have had a decent number of families come through.” Bernardini added, “There has been a lot of interest in the native plantings and butterfly gardens,” he said. Butterfly gardens, such as this one planted in June, generate a lot of interest. In June the Environmental Commission and the city partnered to create a monarch butterfly garden at Ocean City's Bayside Center. Native plants were planted to attract the butterflies. The commission did the same type of garden, only on a smaller scale, in 2021 at the Ocean City Tabernacle. On Friday, Bernardini pulled some items out of a bag to be given out to people who attended the Green Fair. The giveaways were courtesy of the city. Flashlights that did not require batteries, reusable straws, and other items were among the fun and environmentally conscious items provided. Bernardini noted that while each year there is an array of different groups and organizations involved in the Green Fair, they are all there for the same reasons, to help make the environment better, cleaner and safer. Rick Bernardini displays a reusable straw.