Members of the community were invited to the Chappaqua Schools Green Fair at Seven Bridges Middle School Saturday, where many green ideas were represented. The event was put together by the Chappaqua PTA.

The day began with a series of student-led workshops on topics ranging from global warming to sustainable living. Girl Scout troops 1031 and 1070 from Robert E. Bell Middle School held a workshop called "Mobilize for Earth Day." The word "mobilize" was chosen in reference to the mobiles that were assembled by participants. Two kinds of mobiles, representing the earth, were assembled using recycled materials. The "good earths" consisted of solar panels, windmills and plenty of animals. The "bad earths" were covered with litter, smoke-producing factories, many cars and only a few surviving animals. The mobiles will be on display at the Chappaqua Library as part of the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. An opening reception will be held at the library on April 22.

Another workshop was hosted by Kids Against Pollution (KAP). In "Blowing in the Wind," students worked on constructing a wind turbine in the technology room. The materials used by the students included soda bottles, magnet wire, dowels and (light emitting diodes (LEDs). Catarina Pottle, a KAP member, said that her group is very active at Seven Bridges. "We did a contest to find recyclables at home. It was really fun."

A highlight of the fair was a guest appearance by Atka the wolf. Atka is the Wolf Ambassador from the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem. Atka graciously posed for photos and paraded through the aisles to greet the audience. Needless to say, Atka is not a typical wolf. He has been trained to act as an ambassador for the center and thus is comfortable around people.

Presenter Maggie Howell spoke about the center's efforts to protect the wolf population. "The Wolf Conservation Center is home to 25 Mexican gray wolves - two of our Mexican gray wolves have been released into the wild," she said.

She then had Atka demonstrate predator behavior. After she put some some Listerine on the floor, Atka rolled in it to mark his territory. Howell asked the audience, "Why would a predator like to smell like something other than a wolf?" She summarized the correct answer, "So that prey can not smell the predator coming."

A myriad of vendors and groups had displays set up in the cafeteria and were eager to share their ecologically friendly products and services. Vendor Patty Butter was on hand to talk about her natural skin care products for kids. Butter said that she invented her line, "When my own daughter had itchy skin." Her "Butter & Jake," products are created with natural ingredients that are grown locally.

Butter was thrilled to participate in the green fair. "I love these kind of community events," she said. "It's exciting to meet people locally who have the same concerns about the environment."

Participants interviewed were very enthusiastic about the fair. Julia Lubarsky was touring the displays in the cafeteria. She sang in the morning with a choral group from Bell. When asked how the choral presentation tied into the green theme she replied, "We sang three songs and all of them were related (to the environment)." One of the songs was called "Pollution," by Tom Lehrer. Jenna Berkower was holding on to her latest acquisition, a handheld white board from Green My Locker. She spied some energy saving lightbulbs at another booth and told her mother, "We should get them!"

In response to a query as to whether Chappaqua residents would incorporate more green ideas into their way of life, Haley Ferraro, a PTA volunteer, replied, "I hope that a lot of small changes will add up to some big changes." Ferraro herself had acquired a set of reusable bags called the MYeco bagging system.