By Patric Hedlund, TME

Who knew saving the planet and preventing wildfire could be so much fun…and taste so delicious at the same time? The answer was obvious last Saturday and Sunday in Frazier Mountain Park: Anyone under the age of 12. It was a great weekend for adventurous children.

Little Finn Hermosillo, two and a half, was at the wheel of a forest service fire truck Saturday, with giggles. On Sunday, Caleb Casebolt was excited about the delicious homemade elderberry  crisp with berries from our mountains “that tasted organic”…because they are.

He and his family smiled for a photo, saying they had a great time at the event. The elderberry crisp was made by Mary Brooks and Jim Lowery of Mountain Neighbors. They collected the wild berries in these mountains.

Mountain Neighbors sponsored a joyful Earth Day celebration, coordinated by Elke Heitmeyer with Natalie Zadykian this year. Its mission since 2017 has been “to honor diversity in our community and to become more aware—and protective of—the beautiful natural habitat in which we live.”

The Earth Organization, led by Barbara Wiseman, also stepped up. They work internationally but are based in Pine Mountain Village, developing local groups for children to explore cooperative ecology—to learn more about the intelligence of animals and to become aware of how we all do better when we help each other—in our own families, our communities and by helping the animals and plants that make our lives beautiful and healthy on our planet Earth.

James Zoppe of…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

A correction was made to this story on Friday, April 29 at 10 p.m.: The berry used to make the crisp has been corrected. It was an elderberry crisp (not loganberry).  It was delicious. Elderberries grow wild in these mountains—if you know where to find them.

Photo captions:

The Casebolt family: Weston, Caleb, Julia, Violet, Ben and Reiden

Two-and-a-half-year-old Finn Hermosillo.

It takes a village to celebrate our Earth.

Kayleb Fulton, 9; Wild Mountain Thyme; Mary Brooks and Jim Lowery, James Zoppe and Elke Heitmeyer; Malen Embry, Andromeda Hanson, Linnea Soledad Hanson; Tiffany Polk and her 16-month-old twins.

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This is part of the April 29, 2022 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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