Earth Day 2006

WildAlert Earth Day 2006 Stories, Tips, Ideas, and More!

To commemorate Earth Day 2006, The Wilderness Society asked our WildAlert supporters to share their favorite Earth Day stories, ideas and tips with the rest of the community. Thanks to all of you that responded - your messages are an inspiration to all of us here at The Wilderness Society.

Below are just a few of the hundreds of submissions from WildAlert subscribers. Enjoy and happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is special to me every year, as it is not only a reminder that we should give back to the earth since we take so much, but it is also my birthday! My husband and I have a tradition of planting a tree every year on Earth Day, something that was started by my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Anderson, and a small way to help make the world a more beautiful place.

Cora
Puyallup, WA

I remember the first Earth Day in 1970. I was attending Markesan High School in Markesan, Wisconsin. I got up at 5:30 AM and met my chorus teacher. We got into his VW bug and went out on a country road, picking up trash for a few hours. It made me feel good to be able to participate in a small way with others all over the United States to try and help the environment of our precious planet Earth. I have always done something on Earth Day and, as a teacher, I've encouraged other young people to get involved and 'clean up their act.' Thanks to Gaylord Nelson for his foresight and dedication to this important project.

-Greg
Aurora, CO

Many things have been written in praise of wilderness. Some are famous works by Thoreau, Leopold, and others -- and some are more obscure. An example of the latter led to an interesting encounter for a small group of my backpacker friends and I while on a trip to Arkansas a few years ago.

We had spent a fall weekend hiking a section of the Ozark Highlands Trail in Western Arkansas -- a favorite section known as Briar Hollow. It’s a wilderness jewel hidden away by a distance of several trail miles from the nearest country backroad. We were delighted once again at finding the Hollow joyfully clad in its red and gold mantle against a blue sky with waterfalls everywhere cascading over giant boulders. And we were both thankful and saddened that few people know it exists.

We were returning home from the trip and stopped for lunch at a café near Fort Smith. We walked in and sat down at a table across the room. We looked up and saw hanging on the wall above our table a small poem in a frame. It was entitled “Wilderness Remnants” and was written, it said, by a local Arkansas woman named Susan Morrison.

And it went like this:

Tiny parcels of Earth
Still free
from the heavy hand of man

Hidden away
Tucked safely
in secret valley
or atop inaccessible mountains

More real
than anything we know
They seem a dream

Lost in the memory
of a time
when these were
the only surroundings of man

Today . . .

Remnants

Tomorrow . . .

Legends to be told
to unbelieving children

-David

In the past, I have celebrated Earth Day by sponsoring an essay contest in the local middle school. The students had to write an essay on the topic: "What is the biggest threat Endangered Species face?" I bought bicycles for the essays, and subscriptions to their choice of magazines for the runners-up.

I did this to try to cultivate the next generation of environmentalists.

For other past Earth Days, I have planted trees and walked around the beach at my local lake, cleaning up litter. Had an interesting encounter with a crayfish one time doing that.

I'm a scuba diver, and I have wanted to organize an UNDERWATER clean-up on Earth Day. Haven't done that yet, but it's in my future!

John
Williamsburg, NM

Last year after my mother died, I was going through her papers and came across a notebook filled to the brim with the things she had organized for the 1970 Earth Day in Keene, NH. It was hard to believe that she had done so much while being the stay-at-home mom to SIX children ages 1-13. Apparently she networked with many others in New England, coordinating schedules of speakers, bands, crafts booths, as well as setting up generators, making posters, handling press arrangements, getting permits, renting trucks etc. I always knew my mom was a dynamo (she later spent time in prison for her nonviolent anti-nuclear activities at the Seabrook Power Plant; to make her an example, she was sent to a men's prison and put into solitary), but this really took the cake. I remember that time well, (I was the 13-year-old) and she was the same regular attentive mom around the house that spring. Earth Day itself was fabulous, a true meeting of the minds -- and the morals.

Here's to honor Mary F. Gregory 1930-2005, my 1st Earth Day hero.

-Probyn
Los Angeles, California

I'll always remember Earth day 1990. My husband and I worked the Audubon Society booth at a local Earth Day event in Broward County Florida. At that time, the natural environment of that area was being bulldozed into oblivion to make way for the huge influx of newcomers to South Florida; for shopping malls, office buildings, parking lots, high density housing, and so on. Very depressing! Upon arriving at our house from this Earth Day event (glad to have participated, but still sad to observe on the drive home all the former wetlands now turned into asphalt), we turned into our driveway just as a flock of Cedar Waxwings lighted upon a tree in our front yard, chattering happily and sharing the bounty of berries on that tree. Our spirits lifted, if only for that one moment in time, and neither of us has ever forgotten that Earth Day because of it. In the intervening years, Earth Day seems to have become an even more important event, as so much more is lost with each passing year. On this Earth Day the challenge is to celebrate what's left, and to renew our commitment to preserve what we can.

Jacqueline
Fort Myers, FL

We LIVE as if every day is EARTH DAY! We think about our impact on the environment with everything we do. These are my tips and what my daughter and me do each day:

Reduce Packaging Waste

Use canvas or cloth grocery, fruit/vegie and other shopping bags.
Purchase goods in minimal packaging only. Avoid hard plastic and stryofoam.
Use a reusable bottle for drinks (e.g., water). Avoid buying bottled water.
Buy milk in returnable glass bottles from the local dairy and local stores.

Reduce Energy Consumption

Buy only fuel-efficient vehicles.
Walk & bike more. Use public transportation. We walk to the pool, Tang Soo Do, the movie theater, etc.
Use manual yard tools instead of gas or electric powered tools. Use a reel mower, rake, hand clippers, manual edgers. No leaf blowers please!
Buy locally produced food to reduce transportation-associated pollution.
Use air conditioning sparingly. 80 degrees is sufficiently low. We don't turn our air conditioning lower than 84 degrees.
Wash clothing in cold water only.
Avoid watering yards. Plant drought-resistant bushes & plants.
Convert to solar energy. This year I'm hoping to invest in photovoltaic solar electricity. Perhaps next year it will be solar hot water.

Avoid Use of Toxic Chemicals

Avoid use of all chemical herbicides (weed killer), pesticides (insect killer) and chemical fertilizers in your yard, garden and home.
Buy organic food. Support organic farmers each time you shop.
Maintain a non-toxic home. Use only “green” cleaners in and around your house.

Reduce Use of Disposable Products

Use cloth napkins at each meal instead of paper.
Clean your house with old cloth diapers or rags rather than with paper towels or disposable wipes & cleaning tools.

Recycle More

Recycle batteries, light bulbs, and other hazardous wastes.
Recycle mixed paper, magazines, cardboard and phone books at the local recycling drop off centers.
Recycle glass, aluminum, plastic bottles, and newspapers curbside, if you have this service. You may also take these to the recycling drop-off centers.
Start a recycling program at your place of work.
Collect household containers and other items to be used for school science projects and day care arts and crafts.
Drop off unused items in your household at thrift shops.

These are easy to do once you develop positive habits.

-Julie

My backyard is a certified wildlife habitat. I live in a suburb of Indianapolis. When we moved here in 1973, much of the surrounding land was farmland. Quails came into our yard. A black snake hunted for mice (and scared the daylights out of my husband.) The nearby creek was home to beaver and muskrats. Now, the fields are gone, replaced by houses and strip malls. The quails are gone, too; and I haven’t seen a snake in years. The woods are taken over by condos.

We desperately need to contain suburban sprawl. Since I am part of the problem, by living in a suburban area, I decided to make my space a habitat for wild creatures. I have planted evergreens, bushes and flowers for shelter and nectar. I have vines for nesting; and small water features for drinking and bathing. I have large trees for the squirrels and the birds. I have tried to plant as many native Indiana species of plants as possible. My reward is the joy I gain from watching the creatures in my backyard. They are loved and welcome. On Earth Day, I will sit in my backyard and listen to the Cardinals, the Chickadees, and smile at a pair of Carolina Warblers. I will listen to the breeze in the tree canopy, and watch the squirrels chase one another. And, I will plan on more ways to make their home a better environment for all of us.

Patricia
Indianapolis, IN