On Sunday, Pittsburghers who love food and the Earth can have their cake and eat it, too. From noon to 5 p.m. the Rachel Carson Homestead, Springdale, is holding a Sustainable Feast and Block Party to celebrate the 101st anniversary of writer and scientist Rachel Carson's birthday.

Rachel Carson (born May 27, 1907) grew up in the home, which "was really the place where she developed her love of nature," said Fiona Fisher, director of the homestead, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Ms. Carson went on to play a seminal role in forming the environmental movement.

Last year's feast, the first, was such a tremendous success, Ms. Fisher says, that it's been turned into an annual event meant "to connect people to the incredible things happening in this region."

		More information Admission is $5 (free for children under 6) for the Sustainable Feast, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine, at the Rachel Carson Homestead, 613 Marion Ave., Springdale; 724-274-5459 and rachelcarsonhomestead.org.

Once again, Pittsburgh chefs, local farmers and representatives of dozens of environmental and conservation nonprofits and eco-friendly businesses will be participating.

Admission to the feast is $5, and includes the opportunity to sample sustainable, seasonal food cooked by Pittsburgh chefs including big Burrito's Bill Fuller (executive chef), Brandy Stewart (of Soba) and Alan Peet (of Casbah), plus Kitty Leatham, who previously owned the Green Chef's Deli in Sewickley.

The fest also includes a farmers market with about 20 vendors of everything from honey to mushrooms, so that when people taste the food made by the chefs, they'll have immediate access to some of the same local products.

Attendees are encouraged to travel to the feast in sustainable ways, and there will be a prize for the most creative method. Consider carpooling, bicycling, borrowing your neighbor's hybrid or taking the bus.

The homestead is a interesting and beautiful place to visit year round, but this Sunday's celebration is a special opportunity to celebrate Ms. Carson's accomplishments and the ways that so many people in the region have embraced the core of her message, whether they're aware of it or not.

	Hear all about it Dining critic China Millman and food editor Bob Batz Jr. discuss green eating in the Dining In, Dining Out podcast.

I asked the leaders of some organizations participating in the festival to tell me something about what Rachel Carson means to them and how her core beliefs connect to their organizations.

Karl Thomas, executive director of RiverQuest, a nonprofit that offers river-based educational adventure programs:

"Rachel Carson was an oceanographer. That was her first environmental profession. Many of her earlier books were about her travels on research vessels on the ocean. Her last book is called 'Sense of Wonder' and it's a book for parents to help them instill a sense of wonder about nature in their children. That's what we do every day."

Sherry and Jerry Shrum, of the Web-based company Merlin's Bark Products, which uses recycled and repurposed wood to create handcrafted products, including bird and bat houses and outdoor planters:

"The best example of Merlin's Bark Products beliefs and goals connecting with Rachel's would have to her love of nature. All of our products are designed with the ultimate goal of helping to bring nature and wildlife into people's yards. By actively attracting birds and bats into an area (by installing bird feeders, bird houses, and especially bat houses), the use of pesticides can be completely nullified."

Jamie Moore, director of sourcing and sustainability for Eat'n Park Hospitality Group. "[Rachel Carson] was a woman who was way ahead of her times. If she were around right now she would certainly be impressed with some of the things that are happening [in Pittsburgh]."

Virginia Phillips, Slow Food organizer and occasional writer for this section:

"Though Rachel Carson was the early global voice of warning of chemical peril to the planet, it's hard to find a college student who knows her name, and she's not nearly well enough known in her own back yard. So Slow Food Pittsburgh is unabashedly proud to spend a day, along with the farmers market we sponsor, Farmers@Firehouse, the city's only mostly organic farm market, helping to raise the profile of this quiet Western Pennsylvanian. Everything's connected -- Slow Food Pittsburgh and Farmers@Firehouse work to build a safe, local food supply for the region. Carson was an early advocate of organic farming. She asked, 'Can anyone believe it is possible to lay down a barrage of poisons on the surface of the earth without making it unfit for all life?' "