Earth Day activities in bloom on LI

Whether you're a green-living guru, a nature lover or just interested in learning more about the environment, Long Island has plenty of Earth Day events on tap this year.

Offerings in Nassau and Suffolk include hikes, festivals, lectures, art contests and screenings of environmentally-themed movies about urban farming and the secret life of plastic bags.

Kick off Earth Day on Friday with an early morning hike over the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays. Organized by Group for the East End, the walk offers views of Shinnecock Bay and bird-watching.

Have to work? Not to worry. A host of weekend events are scheduled now through May.

Sunday, Huntington's Cinema Arts Centre has afternoon screenings of the documentaries "Bag It" and "On Coal River," about a West Virginia community's fight to save their valley from environmental devastation caused by coal mining.

Prefer your Earth Day a little more sunny-side up? Saturday, the Quogue Wildlife Refuge will offer free guided nature walks, animal presentations and crafts for kids. Litter cleanups are also planned that day in Brentwood and Levittown.

Environmental creativity will be on display at the Broadway Mall in Hicksville, where Nassau County Girl Scout troops will show sculptures made from recycled materials during an Earth Day art contest on Saturday.

The first Earth Day was in 1970. It was the brainchild of Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson, who proposed a national teach-in to raise awareness of environmental problems. The federal Environmental Protection Agency was established later that year, and the decade saw the passage of landmark environmental protection laws.

For Long Islanders such as Suffolk Green Party secretary Ian Wilder, Earth Day is a time to engage in serious conversations about issues such as climate change.

"We use it to discuss going deeper than the swirly lightbulb," said Wilder, referring to energy-efficient compact fluorescent lightbulbs. "We should have offshore wind, like they do in Europe. We should have solar panels on flat roofs."

Those in the mood for weighty discussions may want to swing by Stony Brook University for an April 25 lecture by Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) on the promise and perils of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. It's part of the university's Earthstock celebration, which runs April 25 through 29. Presentations include environmentalist Carl Safina on the changing ocean (April 27) and a talk by former New York Times reporter Andrew Revkin on how today's decisions on energy and urban design will influence the future (April 29).

Rounding out the festivities are community celebrations planned for the weekend of April 30. In Rockville Centre, the Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Tanglewood Preserve will offer events ranging from an amateur photo contest to talks on composting.

Out east, Concerned Citizens of Montauk has organized a cleanup for May 1. And the Town of Islip will host a festival in Sayville that weekend, with activities such as planting tree seedlings.