Earth Day is April 22nd. Think globally, act locally. Your family can participate in the international celebration of Earth Day by choosing one of the projects below. These projects can be done on Earth Day with the thought of being responsible and sensitive to our environment everyday.
What does tree planting have to do with peace? Ask Dr. Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 2004. Dr. Maathai, saw the problems that deforestation and soil erosion caused and how it affected families in her native Kenya. She founded the Green Belt Movement to put an end to deforestation that causes poverty and social unrest. Destruction of the environment is directly linked to poverty, human rights violations, civil conflict and war.
Your family can plant a tree in your own yard or in your community in honor of peace and to help the environment. Did you know:
- One tree in its average 50-year lifetime can clean up $62,000 of air pollution.
- Trees remove air pollution by lowering air temperature through respiration and by retaining particulates.
- Trees recycle water, prevent soil erosion and provide homes for animals.
- Trees lower energy costs.
Steps Involved
- Decide on where you would want to plant the tree. Planting a "Peace Tree" gives you the opportunity to share with others the connection of planting trees to our environment and our quality of life.
- Consider dedicating the tree to someone in your community.
- Check your neighborhood, a park, low-income housing development, a community center or a shelter.
- Before you dig in, contact the telephone, gas, electric, cable and sewer companies. Ask them to check the area where you want to plant so you don't hit any cables or pipes.
- Make arrangements for the tree to be taken care of after you have planted it.
For more information on planting trees check the following websites:
Does your family have old cell phones? According to CollectiveGood International, a mobile phone recycling organization, there are more than 250 million mobile phones that could be recycled.
- Recycled cell phones can be given to victims of domestic violence for emergency calls.
- Many charitable organizations can find new funds through old cell phone donations.
- Refurbished cell phones can be sold to developing countries and offered to those who never have owned a phone.
Steps Involved
- Ask other families and friends for old cell phones; ask them to deactivate their phone and put the chargers, extra batteries, and/or a manual, a sealed plastic baggie, if they still have them.
- Choose one of the following organizations or contact your local carrier:
There are many organizations that will accept used computers for disadvantaged children, the disabled, and schools in our county and developing countries.
For more information, log onto:
Almost every garage has a bicycle that someone else could use. Kids in low-income communities can benefit from your donation. In a developing nation, a bicycle can change a person's life. For example, in Africa, less than 1% of the population owns a car. Food production, health care and education are limited by a lack of transportation. Your old bicycle could be the main means of transportation for doctors, teachers and other adults. Did you know that even in the U.S. some adults depend on bicycles to get to work?
For an extensive list of youth bicycle programs listed by state, check out The International Bicycle Fund at www.ibike.org/encouragement/youth.htm
To help those in developing countries try Pedals for Progress at www.p4p.org
Recycle-a-Bicycle (RAB) at www.recycleabicycle.org
Kids ages 10-18 learn bicycle maintenance and participate in a sweat-equity "Earn-A-Bike" program. RAB endeavors to return cast-off bicycles to the streets in good working order and to improve the mobility of disadvantaged clients.
Bikes for Kids
High School students learn to repair bikes for donation to kids in foster care, special needs camps, and adults needing transportation to get to work. Bikes for Kids needs NEW HELMETS because no bike is donated without a helmet. If your family would like to help, contact Chuck Graeb at 860-434-3684 or write Bikes for Kids at 110 Neck Road, Old Lyme, CT 06731
Visit the The United Nations Environment Program website at http://www.unep.org/publications/ to order these books by Carole Douglis, Theo and The Giant Plastic Ball or Tessa and the Fishy Mystery to read to your children about how the lack of recycling affects our environment.
Your family can help the environment and others in need by starting in your very own home.
- Clean out closets, bookshelves and toy boxes.
- Find agencies (call your Volunteer Center or social services for help) that will accept your used items which should also be cleaned and in good condition.
- Pediatric hospitals, shelters, and foster care agencies often have need for used family videos and used games such as Nintendo.
- Donate household items and furniture that are in good shape. Bed frames, cribs and dressers are in demand by social service agencies.
- Donate clothing, especially kids and infants that is clean, without rips, or stains.
- If you can't find an agency to take your goods, have a tag sale and use the proceeds to plant trees or a garden in a low-income area or facility.
- Dispose of all other recyclables properly.
When you finish "spiffing up" your own home, your family can move on to an elderly neighbor who might need help.
Ask if they would like your family's help with the following:
- Planting flowers or pulling weeds
- Cutting back overgrown bushes
- Raking leaves
- Sweeping porches or arranging for large items of trash or recyclables to be removed
Your family can make an impact on the environment, and Earth Day is the perfect day to start.
