More than 200 people attended the Earth Day Celebration on April 18 hosted by Ananda Dhiira and the California College of Ayurveda. The event attracted visitors from all over the area including as far away as San Francisco.
As a part of the program, visitors took a walk along the creek at Ananda Dhiira, which recently won conservationist of the year from Nevada County. In 2007 Didi Ananda Lalita and Didi Shveta, the proprietors of the land, were recognized for their hard work in clearing away blackberry bushes from the creek.
To kick off the event, Don Ryberg, chairman of the Tsi-Akim Maidu Tribe, led visitors in a land blessing prayer.
Visitors were treated to a walk along the creek with Karen Wiese, a biologist and author of the guidebook “Sierra Nevada Wildflowers,” as well as Paul Lake, a senior resource conservationist of NRCS.
Along with strolling around the recently cleared creek, visitors heard lectures from several ayurvedic practitioners.
Dr. Marc Halpern, director and founder of the California College of Ayurveda, presented lectures on cures for the common cold as well as what foods are best for the three ayurvedic body types: vata, piita and kapha.
As a special treat, the former mayor of El Cerrito Mark Friedman spoke about PROUT, the Progressive Utilization Theory. PROUT is a socio-economic theory that offers an alternative to capitalism and to communism. It guarantees the basic necessities for all humans.
The evening came to a close with a concert by international singers Dada Nabhaniilananda, a yogic monk who has performed around the world, as well as Irish singer-songwriter Jayantii.
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