(Left back) The Carstens family of Herndon and their out-of-town friends, (front left and right) the Jaenicke family, joined Clean Fairfax and Aslin Beer Co. in Herndon on April 24, 2021, to celebrate the 51st Anniversary of Earth Day. Photo by Mercia Hobson.
Looking to better the environment and celebrate the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, Clean Fairfax and Aslin Beer Company hosted Earth Daze on April 24 at the Elden Street Herndon brewery. The one-day event promoted sustainability in a fun and interactive environment, laid out in the fenced-in beer garden. Proceeds from the event allow Clean Fairfax to continue leading its charge on all things green and sustainable in Fairfax County. Highlights of the event included 15 to 20 vendors invited by Clean Fairfax.
Guests enjoyed the build-your-own garden and bourbon barrel kits, bike safety demos, locally sourced food, vendors, and exhibits. The all-day celebration helped spread awareness of the steps people could take to live a more comfortable, sustainable life, all while grabbing beers from the Aslin taproom and sausages and fries from Eugene’s Food Truck.
Representative Don Cammarata, business manager at Covanta Fairfax, Inc., shared how the company provides the community an alternative to landfilling by taking municipal waste to Covanta as Fairfax County does.
“We turn that into power which provides enough electricity to supply about 67,000 to 70,000 homes every day,” he said.
According to Cammarata, the other important aspect of the process is, it avoids taking waste to the landfill where it generates methane gas, a “big climate greenhouse gas issue.
“As a result of processing as Fairfax County does, we reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere,” Cammarata said.
In the fenced-in beer garden, children played, and dogs lounged under their owners’ tables. In the taproom, manager Graham James said that to help the environment, they removed all kinds of plastic cups at the Herndon location.
“We’re serving only in cans and, of course, glassware. We’ve planted trees and fresh plants around the beer garden. In the next couple of weeks we are inviting local vendors out. We also have the bazaar market times every other Sunday,” James said.