by MegAnne Liebsch

The Chestnut Hill Quaker Meeting will be hosting a series of events this month to bring awareness to various environmental issues, such as rainforest conservation and renewable energy.

The events include presentations from guest speakers, as well as activities such as a bike ride and nature walk. All events will be open to the public.

By hosting these events, the meeting hopes to give the Chestnut Hill community the opportunity to learn more about environmental issues.

“In addition to speakers presenting about some issues, we wanted our community – and others too – to get out into nature to enjoy it,” said meeting member Sarah Whitman. “Hence our bike ride and nature walk. We felt that enjoying nature will encourage people to want to protect it.”

The first event on Sunday, April 3, will be a presentation from Campbell Plowden, an ecologist who works with native communities in the Amazon rainforest.

Plowden will speak about how his organization, the Center for Amazon Community Ecology, promotes the creation of non-timber forest crafts. These eco-friendly crafts provide native communities with sustainable jobs, more education and better conservation practices. The presentation will begin at 9 a.m., followed at noon by an Amazon craft sale benefiting the native communities.

On Sunday, April 10, guest speaker Eileen Flanagan, a member of the Earth Quaker Action Team and author of a recent book on environmental justice, will discuss how solar panels provide renewable energy, as well as green jobs. After the presentation, there will be an eight-mile bike ride around Chestnut Hill, led by George Benz at noon. The ride is family-friendly, and Benz will offer shorter routes as well.

There will be a worship meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, that will focus on healing the environment.

The final event on Sunday, April 24, will begin with an outdoor worship meeting at 9 a.m.. Attendees are encouraged to bike, walk or carpool to the meeting, which will be held outside among the trees. Following the worship meeting, Cyane Gresham will lead a family oriented nature walk at noon through the meeting’s gardens and nature paths.

All events will be held at the Chestnut Hill Quaker Meeting at 20 E. Mermaid Lane.