Promoting awareness: Earth Day Jam provides opportunity to learn about food sustainability, nonprofits and community
Published 12:10 am Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Some of the many vendors who participated in this year’s Earth Day Jam. — Karen Kistler
Members of the Salisbury Youth Orchestra played for attendees at CJ’s Sunshine Stage. – Submitted by Stephanie Potter
Volunteer Lexsa Abramowski was managing the plant sale . — Karen Kistler
Vheneka Njoeana, right, an Environmental Steward at Catawba College assists Garrett Keller, with what trash goes into which bin. – Karen Kistler
The crowd grew as the day went on, listening to the music and filling Bell Tower Green. — Karen Kistler
Mojo, a cockatoo, enjoyed dancing to the music said owner Jen Sciortino. — Karen Kistler
Catawba College served as one of the event sponsors. — Karen Kistler
Seth Culp, left, and James “Jeep” Sabo do some blacksmithing at Earth Day Jam. – Karen Kistler
Information about the history of bees was at this booth at Earth Day Jam,. — Karen Kistler
Ashley Honbarrier chats with visitors at the Happy Roots booth. – Karen Kistler
Bands played throughout the day on the Main Stage in Bell Tower Green. — Karen Kistler
Karen Kistler
karen.kistler@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Awareness was one thing that many spoke about at this year’s Earth Day Jam. Whether it was telling about a particular nonprofit or the mission of the event in general or a group raising environmental awareness, that was the message they wanted to share.
Earth Day Jam is a free event provided for the community and held at Bell Tower Green, which serves as a fundraiser for Happy Roots, a nonprofit that has the mission of, according to its Facebook page “getting everyone involved in our food system, creating gardens and new gardeners in every community, and creating a more productive, self-reliant, resilient and healthy society through therapeutic horticulture is making an impact.”
Happy Roots Founder and Executive Director Ashley Honbarrier, said that Earth Day Jam began in 2012 and the nonprofit was started in 2017 and it has definitely evolved to what it is today.
She said they used to host the event on several horse farms and that it was a several-day event, “but since the park was built we had a lot of people that we wanted to reach and make it accessible to, so this is the fourth year at the park and it’s been a free event.”
And bringing awareness is definitely one thing they want to accomplish.
“We love bridging the gap between rural and urban agriculture and getting everyone aware of our food systems and involved,” Honbarrier said, “because sustainable agriculture and awareness is the best way to help the environment. Every year, we keep getting more people involved, and it’s really about growing community.”
Many volunteers come to help out during the day aiding where and how they can.
Meredith Abramson said this was probably her fourth year volunteering, something she does for Honbarrier and because she loves the mission of Happy Roots.
Abramson, who is an art teacher at East Rowan High School, said she “got my foot in the door,” when her students helped paint signs for Earth Day and she has continued since.
She said that she felt it was important to volunteer because it is “important in any community. It’s like the backbone of any community, any organization, but for Ashley in particular, the fact that she’s putting gardens in schools and in the community and in assisted living centers I think is a beautiful thing because what we eat helps us be healthy and wholesome and so she’s teaching people, equipping people with the skills that we need to be healthy humans.”
All ages were at the park, either listening to the multiple musical groups in concert, whether at the Main Stage or at CJ’s Sunshine Stage or browsing the vendor booths, visiting the food trucks, playing in the park or just walking around and talking.
Honbarrier said that she has previously worked for a booking agency and played in a band so she liked the music portion of the day and putting on the concerts. Those began at 11 a.m. and ran throughout the evening with a variety of music taking the stage.
Scattered throughout the park were also vendors selling their specialty items ranging from jewelry to clothing or soaps, pottery and plants. South Main Book Store had its bookmobile with free books for those who wanted to get one. And food trucks with a varied selection to choose from, some of which included pizza, burgers and coffee.
Among the vendors, awareness of who they were and what they had to offer the community was also noted by several.
James Sabo, known as “Jeep” to most everyone, he said, and Seth Culp, who has been working with him since 2010, were providing a blacksmithing demonstration working on a big fork for cooking outside over an open fire.
Sabo, who operates Jeep Forge School of Blacksmithing, noted that he used to be a part of Earth Day events when they were at Dan Nicholas Park, this was their first time since it has been held at Bell Tower Green, and Sabo wanted to come and “feel the crowd out and just have some fun on a good day.”
A resident of Rockwell, he said he enjoys teaching and has done school blacksmithing so he wanted to come and educate about the old way of doing things, which he said is still useful today.
Sabo also said he likes to say that blacksmithing is “also a great stress management, beating a piece of metal.”
Bringing awareness about the Salisbury Symphony plus their educational programs which offers classes for children and adults is what Stephanie Potter, who is the president of the symphony board of directors and Angie Smith, who also serves on the board and the guild, wanted to do at the event.
Members of their youth orchestra were also at Earth Day Jam performing at the booth and then later at the CJ’s Sunshine Stage, bringing additional awareness to the program.
Plus they had instruments that children could play and “spark their interest” said Smith.
Another vendor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, was on site with Clara Tinsley and Dora Mbuwayesamgo bringing awareness to the church’s Vacation Bible School program coming up in June for ages 6-12.
“We would love for more kids to come to that,” said Tinsley.
And others were there making sure the community knew about their programs such as the Farmers Market, local business and Catawba College, which had many serving as volunteers for the day.
Vheneka Njoeana, a junior at Catawba College, one of the school’s Environmental Stewards, was there and said they were all there at Earth Day Jam “helping and volunteering to help people sort out where trash goes or where recycling cans go or anything that’s compostable.”
She noted that most of the items that were provided during the event were mostly compostable including some cups and trays as well.
The Environmental Stewards, she said, is a stand alone program and the various volunteers took different shifts, rotating throughout the day helping.
“Being a steward,” she pointed out, “is being able to stand up for a greener and cleaner future.”
Njoeana said she felt it was important for them to be there because they are “strong believers of the environment of sustainability.”
Noah Upchurch, one of the sustainability programs directors at Catawba and who helps to coordinate the Stewards with their Zero Waste efforts, was at the event.
He pointed out that they had their all-American Ford Lightning on site “to get the citizens of Salisbury able to see what American manufacturing can do,” and added “that’s helping to cook some of the local burgers.”
Njoeana mentioned the many gardens that Happy Roots has all across town and she said that they at the college also “try and push with our community gardens at Catawba as well. We take care of some gardens as well, so this is very important for us because it’s pushing the movement forward. It’s pushing environmental awareness, it’s pushing the importance of it and how it beautifies the environment as well,” she said.
Lexsa Abramowski, who was volunteering at the event, was managing the plant sale, all of which had been donated, so therefore she said all of the proceeds would go back to Happy Roots.
Her husband Bryan Abramowski owns and operates Rockwell Farms, which was one of the event sponsors.
Lexsa said that she had known Honbarrier forever and helped with whatever she needed and it was fun being there.
Happy Roots, Lexsa said, is a “good educational thing because they are teaching kids sustainability. Honbarrier has many different gardens, in the community and in schools” and is teaching the children how to plant, harvest and what to do with it. “Sustainability is important.”
Looking out over the crowd, Abramson, who is a Bell Tower Green board member, said, “just look around, this is a free event for our community,” and added that when they planned the park, “this is exactly what we had in mind, filling the park with the people of our community, all walks of life and it’s free so we’ve got music, we’ve got food, the vendors and we’re promoting awareness of the importance of growing your own food and gardens.”
