Batavia plans fun way to save the Earth

Turn out the lights and have some fun Saturday night.

No, wait, that didn’t come out exactly right. I mean the kind of fun you can have in public.

The Batavia Environmental Commission is having an Earth Hour celebration from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Eastside Community Center, 14 N. Van Buren St.

There will be three 20-minute sessions each of games, crystal singing bowls, storytelling based on constellations, yoga, a drum circle, guided meditation and relaxation and learning about stars and telescopes.

Organizers suggest bringing yoga mats, blankets, percussion instruments and telescopes.

“We have grown so big we do it for two hours,” joked Dianne Peterson, the event’s organizer. That, and it seemed wasteful to put in so much effort for something that would only last an hour.

Given that the forecast calls for temperatures in the 30s and snow, most of the events will be held indoors, Peterson said.

The commission joined Earth Hour in 2009.

Earth Hour was started by the World Wildlife Fund in Australia in 2007, by people who believe the Earth’s climate is changing due to mankind’s practices. It encourages people and businesses to do without electrical power for an hour at 8:30 p.m. local time worldwide, to call attention to the issue.

Peterson is a passionate advocate for the environment. She has organized “walk to school” events at her children’s grade school, and recently ran a “Green Night at the Movies” where a film about what happens to plastic bags and other trash was detailed.

But she doesn’t expect the whole town to go totally dark Saturday night. And when talking to kids about Earth Hour, she cautions them:

“Don’t turn off the refrigerator, or Mom will be really mad.”