Shades of green
Grace Watson creates a mural of Michigan with recycled bottle caps. Courtesy photo
By Barb Mosher, Contributing Writer
The Coronavirus pandemic may have washed the color out of Earth Day 2020 celebrations, but local environmental enthusiasts are rebounding with a palette of activities and resources next week to heighten awareness of and interest in preserving and protecting the area’s natural resources.
“We were disappointed we couldn’t do most of the things we had lined up for Earth Day last year,” said Royce Ragland, co-founder and chair of Green Elk Rapids, a volunteer organization committed to educating and inspiring the community on environmental issues. “But (the pandemic) has actually presented us with a unique opportunity to brainstorm and do things differently, in reasonable and safe ways.”
Earth Day’s roots go back to April 22, 1970 when an organized nationwide network of peaceful demonstrations sought to bring about environmental reform. As an annual event on the same day ever since, Earth Day is now observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit earthday.org.
Green Elk Rapids’ Earth Day family-friendly festivities will begin Wednesday, April 21 this year with more than 20 “Trashformation” projects made of recyclable materials displayed in downtown business windows and doorways through Saturday, April 24. The public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite “Trashformations” on a ballot available at the Green Elk Rapids information booth located on River Street at the Joe Yuchasz Walkway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 24.
Saturday’s two-hour focused celebration will also feature eight other educational stations scattered outdoors throughout the downtown area. Stations will include information and resources on recycling, composting, pollinator gardens and native species, local foods and farm markets, the benefits of planting trees, and the green infrastructure and practices within the village including rain gardens and bioswales. The Elk Rapids District Library will also host a used book exchange/sale highlighting environmental and gardening topics.
The high school’s Eco Club will staff an information station across from the Elk Rapids Cinema where they will display their Trashformation creation inspired by Dr. Seuss’ environmentally themed book, “The Lorax.” Club members will read the book aloud every half-hour between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and hand out lemonade and seed packets.
“With our everyday responsibilities, a lot of the time the environment isn’t always a top priority for people,” said Eco Club president Mary Halek. “We use Earth Day to push out as much information as possible to get people to realize that every day is an important day for the earth, and we need to start protecting it.”
Many of the Trashformation projects will be submitted by Elk Rapids High School students who have worked on them individually or in small groups as part of Paige Poindexter’s earth science curriculum. Designed and engineered completely with collected recycled materials, each “Trashformation” project creatively expresses an environmental message that plants seeds of awareness in the minds of the students who make them as well as those who will view them.
“I’ve seen that as we bring awareness to issues and how they directly affect the students, it inspires them to change, to figure out what they can do,” Poindexter said. “Environmental concerns can be overwhelming, but when we narrow it down and it becomes a matter of putting a bottle in a recycle bin as opposed to a trash can, it’s something they can do that makes a difference.”
Paula Moyer, Green Elk Rapids volunteer and Trashformation project co-coordinator, is delighted that the desire to save the planet crosses generational boundaries. “It’s nice to set aside time every year to come together as a community at large — students and adults — to celebrate where we’re at with the environment and how we’re moving forward to protect and restore our earth,” she said.
Ragland expects the joint efforts of Green Elk Rapids, local businesses and organizations, community members, and village officials will not only result in a successful Earth Day celebration, but a renewed commitment to learn from the past, make a difference every day, and plan for a future that prioritizes the preservation and protection of the abundant natural resources that make northern Michigan unique.
“We just want to keep reminding people to get in the spirit, to reduce, reuse, recycle, and to do their part for the environment,” Ragland said. “It’s the good, ethical thing to be doing. It’s everyone’s responsibility.”
For a complete list of Earth Day activities including the information stations and their locations, see page 8 or go to greenelkrapids.org. Current Covid-19 restrictions and procedures will be observed at all times.
The Coronavirus pandemic may have washed the color out of Earth Day 2020 celebrations, but local environmental enthusiasts are rebounding with a palette of activities and resources next week to heighten awareness of and interest in preserving and protecting the area’s natural resources.
“We were disappointed we couldn’t do most of the things we had lined up for Earth Day last year,” said Royce Ragland, co-founder and chair of Green Elk Rapids, a volunteer organization committed to educating and inspiring the community on environmental issues. “But (the pandemic) has actually presented us with a unique opportunity to brainstorm and do things differently, in reasonable and safe ways.”
Earth Day’s roots go back to April 22, 1970 when an organized nationwide network of peaceful demonstrations sought to bring about environmental reform. As an annual event on the same day ever since, Earth Day is now observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit earthday.org.
Green Elk Rapids’ Earth Day family-friendly festivities will begin Wednesday, April 21 this year with more than 20 “Trashformation” projects made of recyclable materials displayed in downtown business windows and doorways through Saturday, April 24. The public will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite “Trashformations” on a ballot available at the Green Elk Rapids information booth located on River Street at the Joe Yuchasz Walkway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 24.
Saturday’s two-hour focused celebration will also feature eight other educational stations scattered outdoors throughout the downtown area. Stations will include information and resources on recycling, composting, pollinator gardens and native species, local foods and farm markets, the benefits of planting trees, and the green infrastructure and practices within the village including rain gardens and bioswales. The Elk Rapids District Library will also host a used book exchange/sale highlighting environmental and gardening topics.
The high school’s Eco Club will staff an information station across from the Elk Rapids Cinema where they will display their Trashformation creation inspired by Dr. Seuss’ environmentally themed book, “The Lorax.” Club members will read the book aloud every half-hour between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and hand out lemonade and seed packets.
“With our everyday responsibilities, a lot of the time the environment isn’t always a top priority for people,” said Eco Club president Mary Halek. “We use Earth Day to push out as much information as possible to get people to realize that every day is an important day for the earth, and we need to start protecting it.”
Many of the Trashformation projects will be submitted by Elk Rapids High School students who have worked on them individually or in small groups as part of Paige Poindexter’s earth science curriculum. Designed and engineered completely with collected recycled materials, each “Trashformation” project creatively expresses an environmental message that plants seeds of awareness in the minds of the students who make them as well as those who will view them.
“I’ve seen that as we bring awareness to issues and how they directly affect the students, it inspires them to change, to figure out what they can do,” Poindexter said. “Environmental concerns can be overwhelming, but when we narrow it down and it becomes a matter of putting a bottle in a recycle bin as opposed to a trash can, it’s something they can do that makes a difference.”
Paula Moyer, Green Elk Rapids volunteer and Trashformation project co-coordinator, is delighted that the desire to save the planet crosses generational boundaries. “It’s nice to set aside time every year to come together as a community at large — students and adults — to celebrate where we’re at with the environment and how we’re moving forward to protect and restore our earth,” she said.
Ragland expects the joint efforts of Green Elk Rapids, local businesses and organizations, community members, and village officials will not only result in a successful Earth Day celebration, but a renewed commitment to learn from the past, make a difference every day, and plan for a future that prioritizes the preservation and protection of the abundant natural resources that make northern Michigan unique.
“We just want to keep reminding people to get in the spirit, to reduce, reuse, recycle, and to do their part for the environment,” Ragland said. “It’s the good, ethical thing to be doing. It’s everyone’s responsibility.”
For a complete list of Earth Day activities including the information stations and their locations, see page 8 or go to greenelkrapids.org. Current Covid-19 restrictions and procedures will be observed at all times.
| ern-2021_0415_a01.pdf |