The earth is huge. Climate change is dauntingly complex. It's easy to feel overwhelmed, to throw your arms up in despair. To do nothing.
But preserving and protecting this fragile planet starts at home. With each of us, every day. Earth Day on Friday, April 22 is a reminder that if every one of us does our part, we really can make a difference.
When I lived in Germany, I was stunned to find recycle stations on every other block. Everyone recycled everything all the time without the benefit of exhaust-spewing trucks stopping at every house every week or two. Just gather it up, walk down the block and poof. And that was nearly 30 years ago.
When I lived in Boulder, Colorado, recycling and composting were the norm. I cannot think of a single person or family who knowingly tossed anything organic or recyclable into the trash. Including me. And I haven't lived there for a decade. The commitment to recycling needs to be a social norm, an imperative. Almost assumed.
Recycling is just one of many ways to honor the Earth all year long in our ever greener Buffalo. Here are just a handful of ways to get you started this week.
On Earth Day itself, gather up electronics you no longer need or use and bring them to the e-junk drop-off at City Honors School between 8:00am-2:00pm. Bonus: it will benefit the Pelion Community Garden (which could also use some volunteer to help prep the garden for spring from 2:30-4:30pm. Consider bringing along some garden tools or seeds to donate).
Celebrate 34andMore Recycling's first birthday at 11:00am on Allen between Delaware and Franklin. This public initiative to increase the city’s recycling rate will be promoted all month long via the Green City Window project via art displays made from “up-cycled” materials in more than a dozen city store windows on Allen Street and elsewhere. The city's current recycling rate is just 23 percent. The goal: exceed the national average. Do your part!
You have lots of Earth Day options on Saturday:
Start your day at the Earth Day Celebration in Cazenovia Park, one of our beautiful Olmsted Parks. Stop by at 9:00am and you can still make it to a Riverkeeper Spring Shoreline Sweep site by 10:00am. At Caz, learn about the BOPC composting program, the Emerald Ash Borer problem in our parks, and more. Why not take a quick brisk walk around the park while you're there? The event continues until Noon.
The Riverkeeper Spring Shoreline Sweep is just two hours long, from 10:00am to Noon. Although more than 1200 volunteers have already signed up, help is still needed at North Creek South Creek Park in Cheektowaga, Cheektowaga Town Park, Cayuga Creek in Depew, Gill Creek Park in Niagara Falls, and Bergholtz Creek in Wheatfield. Many hands make light work. Sign up online. At 12:30pm head to the Appreciation Party at the West Side Rowing Club. This regional cleanup effort helps us all enjoy our area beaches and waterways.
Your next stop is the 11th annual Enviro-Fair at the Galleria Mall between 10:00am-3:00pm. Exhibits by more than a dozen area eco-organizations, including solar energy demos and Eco Options products. Bring five plastic shopping to be recycled and receive a free re-usable tote (while supplies last). Free tree seedlings will also be available.
If you have time, find out where what you recycle ends up. Republic Services Recycling Materials Facility is hosting an Open House 9:00am to 1:00pm. Republic is in the rear of the Speed Warehouse Complex at 2299 Kenmore Avenue. Refreshments will be served (on resuseable/recyclable plates and cups, one hopes).
Earth Day 2016 is the 46th anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. These days, every day must be Earth Day.
