Cranberry kicks off Earth Month celebrations with ‘upcycling’ art project
CRANBERRY TWP — Earth Day is not until Monday, April 22, but Cranberry Township couldn’t wait to start celebrating. The township got an early start on the Earth Day festivities with a special “upcycling” art project on Thursday, April 4, in the Makerspace section of its public library, located at the township’s municipal building on Rochester Road.
More than a dozen youngsters gathered in the Makerspace in the spirit of Earth Day to see what art they could create out of everyday objects.
This event took place under the guidance of Makerspace manager Mary Frances Rentzel, who roamed the space to supervise the individual art projects. Among the materials children had to work with were empty water and soda bottles, leftover pieces of lumber, bottle corks, yogurt cups, Styrofoam cups, and discarded or unusable CDs and DVDs.
“Upcycling is sort of what it sounds like. It’s just taking recyclable materials and making it something more,” said Liam Darr, planning and development specialist for Cranberry Township. “So we're taking what would otherwise just be Coke bottles and yogurt containers and making it into something valuable when it would otherwise be trash.”
Bryce Lefler made a miniature bridge replica out of cork and wire. Meanwhile, Jainio Garg made a miniature robot out of cork, wood, and salt and pepper shakers, with the corks serving as the robot’s hands.
“It’s very interesting because robots are the future, but I’m making it out of the past,” Garg said.
According to Darr, some of the lumber came from the municipal building’s ongoing renovation project, taking place just outside the library’s doors.
“We actually took some of that wood here from the building project and provided that here in usable quantities and sizes,” Darr said. “And the kids seem to be really using that.”
The upcycling event is a collaboration between the Makerspace and the township’s Environmental Advisory Committee, or EAC, of which Darr is a member. The committee was formed in 2019 to ensure Cranberry Township is as environmentally responsible as possible.
“(Rentzel) put this all together. All we did was we save bottles and cans and lids and everything for them,” said Nancy Auer, who is also a member of the advisory committee.
In addition to their own projects, the youngsters also contributed to a larger, collaborative art piece during Thursday’s upcycling event. While the teens will be able to take home their own projects, the larger project will be displayed publicly and raffled off during the Earth Week event at the community park on April 22.
According to Darr, this event is just the start of what the township has planned for its Earth Day celebrations, which will culminate with April 22’s kickoff event.
The kickoff event will prominently feature the community park’s new stream restoration project, which broke ground in late March. The township also will give away 50 backyard habitat starter kits.
“The EAC loves the idea of backyard habitat projects for bees and birds and flowers,” Auer said. “So we're going to give away backyard habitat kits.”
The kickoff event is scheduled for 4 p.m. April 22. In addition, the township will hold a class on the environmental benefits of rain barrels at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, at the municipal center, with help from Haine Middle School students. The registration fee for this class is $40.
