Superstorm Sandy examined in Bernardsville photo show

Visit the Bernardsville Public Library this month for Sandy’s Wake-Up Call, a juried exhibition of photographs organized by the Bernardsville Green Team, Shade Tree Committee, and Environmental Commission.

The photos will be on display at the library through the month of November. An opening reception will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8.

Sandy’s Wake-Up Call is a collection of photographic interpretations of superstorm Sandy’s impact on our lives and environment, now and into the future.

The organizers solicited all photos of superstorm Sandy’s impact from members of the community, including those to fill categories such as “Before and After,” “Fury of the Storm,” “Recovery,” “Restoration,” and “Visionary Approaches.”

“The devastation that superstorm Sandy wreaked on our region was a wake-up call to everyone,” said Ed English, show coordinator. “As heroic and committed as the response to this storm was, the problems will be with us for a long time.”

The Green Team, Shade Tree Committee, and Environmental Commission hope the exhibition provides a forum to elicit study and discussion of the issue, and encourages people to think about the urgency of conserving the environment and minimizing or preventing the destruction of a future superstorm. The organizers of the exhibition also hope that keeping the memory of Sandy alive will help local residents preserve what makes their lives meaningful, English said.

“I volunteer for all of these organizations, and we’ve hosted a number of programs for their committees at the library over the years,” he said. “Hurricane Sandy seems to combine a lot of their efforts in one way or another, so this exhibition seemed like the perfect fit.”

The judges for the show were: Dwight Hiscano, a published and collected photographer; Dave DesRochers, member of the North American Nature Photography Association; and Philip and Rebecca Witt, long-time volunteers at the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary, where they co-lead the photography workshop series.

“We want to show that this hurricane brought up a lot of issues that affect all of us, and our future,” he said. “We want to spread the message that preserving our environment is critical, and something we should all be thinking about.”

Two of the photographers will receive special recognition; “Best of Show" will be announced at the opening reception, and a “Community Favorite” will be voted on by visitors throughout the month.

The exhibition will be on view at the library during regular library hours, unless a meeting is in progress. It will travel to the New Jersey Audubon facility in Plainsboro for an exhibition in December, and then to the Scherman Hoffman Wildlife Sanctuary in Bernardsville, where it will be on view in January and February of next year.

SANDY’S WAKE-UP CALL

WHEN: Through November 30

WHERE: Bernardsville Public Library, 1 Anderson Hill Road

COST: Free

INFORMATION: 908-766-0118 or www.bernardsvillelibrary.org