Dear Shifters,
April 22nd 2012 will mark the 42nd Earth Day. An annual event observed in more than 175 countries. In past this environmental movement has helped push for the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in the United States.
The success of Earth Day is largely because the global event is focused on building grassroots community activism to address some of the most pressing issues facing our planet... global warming, pollution, waste management, food supply, and green energy.
These are all issues they we discuss here everyday. So how can you participate? Have a look at act.earthday.org aiming at 1 billion acts of green! Join in, help take the count past the 1 billion mark.
What are your thoughts about the Earth Day Network? Will you be doing anything special on that day? Did you remember/mark it in your calender?
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6 replies to this topic
#2
Posted 17 April 2012 - 05:02 PM
It's not on the "official" day, but I will be at Thompson Park in Amarillo, helping to replant trees on the 21st.
http://www.altenergy...and-replanting/
http://static1.pixda...80dfad_mdsq.jpg
http://www.altenergy...and-replanting/
http://static1.pixda...80dfad_mdsq.jpg
#3
Posted 17 April 2012 - 08:38 PM
We will be cleaning up a local park. It's an urban treasure, hidden away, created out of a former sewage treatment plant, with a beaver pond, trails, creek, herons and loads of water birds and lots and lots of public art installations scattered throughout. Unfortunately, some people still seem to treat it like it's a sewage plant and the litter is bad. Beavers in the city! How can anyone thrown a McDonald's bag in their home? Unbelievable. Anyway, we'll also be brainstorming things we can do throughout the year to extend the spirit beyond just one day.
#5
Posted 19 April 2012 - 03:34 PM
Jeff and I are helping a friend set up a Therapy Garden- that’s her term for it. Her primary business is as an animal wrangler for kid’s events, religious shows like Christmas and Easter programs put on by churches, horses and horseback riding and lots, lots mores, especially baby animals for several petting zoos for kids.
It’s a big operation and she has been transforming the “FARM” as it is known, over to solar energy a little at a time, running pumps and watering with some lighting being added. It’s a work in progress. Since she has a lot of animals (fertilizer generators, as we call them) and some extra land she has decided to start a ¼ acre garden.
She does a lot of work with kids with disabilities at the farm; kids ride while trained volunteers walk next to the horse, or if able several can ride together with volunteers on horseback, another program pairs kid’s with autism or special needs to interact the baby animals with counselors, parents and volunteers. Another area has been with veterans and war vets to ride in groups together and spend time around other returning vets. It’s a way to get out of the group meeting setting, yet still be able to share and talk amongst each other in the outdoors of South Florida.
Anyway now she is integrating a ¼ acre container garden into the farm. Sand is not that great for gardening and our friend is a terrible plant person (Says she has a black thumb), so she asked for our help. Because of her work with the groups she asked for donation in material.
The pots are recycled from landscapers, the water is going to be drip irrigation powered off solar (what else) and the composter will be doubled in size. Someone donated a 300 gallon rain water catch system using the gutters on the barn,(Cistern); we are going organic so no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, it’s back to nature.
She came to us a couple of weeks ago with the idea of adding the garden for the kids and vets programs, considering the causes we could not say no so we got on board. So earth day we will be mowing the weeds and catching everything. The tilling to get the ground broken up to about 10 inches or so. Even though everything is in containers they will be set 6-8 inches down in the ground to help prevent the plants from drying out to quickly. Once the pots are in the ground we put down used straw from horse stalls, and animal bedding, waste nothing (that’s my motto).
Anyway we are getting everything ready and then the kids and vets and their families get to pick some pots and seeds and plant stuff and then come back and harvest. Jeff wanted to be planting trees again this year, he loves planting trees, but this year looks like where garden prepping.
It’s a big operation and she has been transforming the “FARM” as it is known, over to solar energy a little at a time, running pumps and watering with some lighting being added. It’s a work in progress. Since she has a lot of animals (fertilizer generators, as we call them) and some extra land she has decided to start a ¼ acre garden.
She does a lot of work with kids with disabilities at the farm; kids ride while trained volunteers walk next to the horse, or if able several can ride together with volunteers on horseback, another program pairs kid’s with autism or special needs to interact the baby animals with counselors, parents and volunteers. Another area has been with veterans and war vets to ride in groups together and spend time around other returning vets. It’s a way to get out of the group meeting setting, yet still be able to share and talk amongst each other in the outdoors of South Florida.
Anyway now she is integrating a ¼ acre container garden into the farm. Sand is not that great for gardening and our friend is a terrible plant person (Says she has a black thumb), so she asked for our help. Because of her work with the groups she asked for donation in material.
The pots are recycled from landscapers, the water is going to be drip irrigation powered off solar (what else) and the composter will be doubled in size. Someone donated a 300 gallon rain water catch system using the gutters on the barn,(Cistern); we are going organic so no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, it’s back to nature.
She came to us a couple of weeks ago with the idea of adding the garden for the kids and vets programs, considering the causes we could not say no so we got on board. So earth day we will be mowing the weeds and catching everything. The tilling to get the ground broken up to about 10 inches or so. Even though everything is in containers they will be set 6-8 inches down in the ground to help prevent the plants from drying out to quickly. Once the pots are in the ground we put down used straw from horse stalls, and animal bedding, waste nothing (that’s my motto).
Anyway we are getting everything ready and then the kids and vets and their families get to pick some pots and seeds and plant stuff and then come back and harvest. Jeff wanted to be planting trees again this year, he loves planting trees, but this year looks like where garden prepping.
#7
Posted 20 April 2012 - 04:45 PM
The Earth Day is on my events calendar and surely I will be out there participating in some of the events on my city.
Falling this year on Sunday, there are more family activities scheduled this year, including a Earth Parade and many environment awareness activities.
Falling this year on Sunday, there are more family activities scheduled this year, including a Earth Parade and many environment awareness activities.
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