Invest in the planet
Earth Day is Saturday: Help clean up, or just get out and enjoy the day
By Leslie Vreeland Contributing Editor
Do you have plans for Earth Day this Saturday? Wondering how to make an impact?
It’s easy: you don’t even need to leave your home to get going. Earth Day has an official website (and a tagline: “Growing the movement since 1970”), replete with suggestions, toolkits and an event map, at EarthDay.org.
You could swing by the Wilkinson Public Library, which is giving away free seed packets donated by the local Colorado State University Extension Office serving San Miguel and West Montrose counties (learn more about the office’s programs at sanmiguel.extension.colstate.edu). The packets are free while supplies last. The library is making a weekend of it: in addition to free seed packs and a plant swap, there’ll be a table full of information at the Wilkinson offering ways to learn more and get involved.
“It’s really casual — just come and go,” said Mollie Theis, the education and outreach coordinator for the local nonprofit EcoAction Partners.
Pick up information about other local nonprofits — like Sheep Mountain Alliance — that are working to help not only the planet in general, but the San Juans specifically.
“I’d encourage people to consider taking action on legislation that’s currently in Congress” that will protect public lands, “like the CORE Act and the Dolores National Conservation Area,” said Ruthie Boyd, Sheep Mountain’s program coordinator (learn more at sheepmountainalliance.org).
“We’ll be giving out books by Bill McKibben,” the author, climate change thought leader and guest director at this year’s edition of Mountainfilm,Theis added. “We’re using this drop-by event at the library as a catalyst and motivation to sign up for other events,” such as the Spring Cleanup EcoAction is offering along with San Miguel County May 19-20, which includes electronic waste recycling, in the Carhenge parking lot, and a“Trash Bash” cleanup event that same weekend — “a way to give back to this beautiful place” — followed by food, drinks and live music, in Town Park.
“We’re looking for volunteers” for both the Spring Cleanup and the Bash, Theis added. “The library will have signup sheets.”
Asked for specific Earth Day action recommendations, Theis’ reply was low-key: “Do something that creates a connection to place and space,” she said. “Something that creates hand-on, joyful experiences. Spend some time outside, unplugged. It doesn’t have to be crazy. Take a walk with your family.”
If you’d prefer more formal events, there is a community cleanup in Ridgway from 10 a.m. to noon, which starts at Cottonwood Park, at the corner of Lena and Moffat streets, and ends at Hartwell Park. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. The Town of Ridgway is providing dumpsters Saturday behind the Ridgway Public Library, which this year will also include a receptacle for disposing of metallic waste, from Recla Metals in Montrose (where this reporter disposes of used batteries).
Also in Ridgway Saturday, Rocky Mountain Cannabis will be donating 20 percent of its proceeds of daily flower sales to the Ridgway Community Apiary, which is committed to nurturing vital pollinators.
“The apiary bees perished” this winter, the group’s cofounder, Vicki Hawse, said. “We’re not giving up!” (Make a donation to the apiary directly by sending a check to Box 2071, Ridgway, CO 81432, or via Paypal to RidgwayCommunityApiary@gmail.com).
“Though we don’t organize anything special on Earth Day, the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership celebrates Earth Day year-round — and we celebrate Watershed Day every year on the last Saturday of June with Ridgway RiverFest,” said the nonprofit’s executive director, Tanya Ishikawa. “We’re excited to host the free festival this June 24, and expect many partner organizations that care for the Earth to join us and share tips on how everyone can care for the Earth 24/7/365.”
Other ideas for Earth Day: “Determine something that is good for the planet and make a commitment to incorporate that into your daily practice,” Hilary Cooper, outgoing San Miguel County commissioner, suggested. “Change your impact one small action at a time, every day, moving forward.”
“I’ve always noticed so much trash in the alleys and along the River Trail this time of year,” Telluride resident Naani Sheva, executive director of the Telluride Nordic Association and manager of the Practice yoga studio, observed. “I’ve taken to bringing a trash bag when I walk my dog around town, and on local trails. I’d like to encourage others to do the same: grab those plastic bags you have stuffed away from those trips to City Market and pick up as you go.”
“My Earth Day advice is to go run the Lower San Miguel or the Dolores River,” said Adrian Bergere, executive director of the San Miguel Watershed Coalition. “The Uncompahgre Plateau and Dolores Basin received unprecedented amounts of snow, and it is running off quickly. Go get it while you can and appreciate these sometimes-unappreciated areas.”