QUOTE
“Everything is connected. Connectivity is going to be the key to addressing these issues, like contaminants and climate change. They’re not just about contaminants on your plate. They’re not just about the ice depleting. They’re about the issue of humanity. What we do every day — whether you live in Mexico, the United States, Russia, China … can have a very negative impact on an entire way of life for an entire people far away from that source.”
—Sheila Watt-Cloutier, Inuit activist
A FEW FUN WAYS TO CELEBRATE EARTH DAY:
FREE ADMISSION TO RMNP
Earth Day, in fact, Earth Week, is a great time to celebrate with a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Not only is it a beautiful place to spend your environmental holiday, it’s free of charge for everyone between April 21 and April 29. RMNP is having an Earth Day event on Saturday, April 21, at the park’s Fall River Visitor Center, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Per a press release from the park, “there will be ranger-led educational programs, starting at 10 a.m. and a Skins & Skulls talk at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Throughout the day, there will be an arts-and-crafts station set up, where children can create cool Earth Day artwork. Question-and-answer booths staffed by park scientists and rangers will allow visitors of all ages to receive behind-the-scenes information about the park. Kids ages 12 and under can also sign up to earn their Junior Ranger badge. The Junior Ranger program is available in English and Spanish.”
If you feel like traveling a bit farther, all National Parks in the U.S. are offering free admittance during Earth Week.
RUN FOR THE PLANET
Touted as “The Greenest 5k in Boulder,” the 10th Annual Earth Day 5K Run/Walk is going down on Sunday, April 22, at the CU-Boulder Research Park in Boulder. The run is offering cash prizes for the top men and women finishers. All proceeds go to benefit the Center for ReSource Conservation (CRC), a local 501(c)(3) non-profit that is trying to make our community more sustainable. The race begins at 10 a.m. at Potts Field at 4001 Discovery Drive, after a 9 a.m. yoga and meditation circle that will be led by Sakyong Mipham, spiritual leader of Shambhala. Registration closes at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 21. For additional information, contact the CRC at 303-999- 3820.
WILD EARTH DAY
This year’s 11th annual Wild Earth Day, put on by Wild Bear Mountain Ecology Center, will take place in the center of the town of Nederland on Sunday, April 22. Organizers suggest you “Ride the RTD N bus from Boulder, walk, carpool or ride your bike for Boulder County’s Earth Day celebration! Special prizes at Wild Bear’s booth if you used alternative transportation to get to Wild Earth Day!” Wild Earth Day offers a day of free, hands-on experiences for all ages. This year’s guest speaker, Lonnie Gamble, is a professor and curriculum director for the sustainable living program at Maharishi University of Management and founder of the Abundance Ecovillage, a 15-acre, off-the-grid, sustainable development in Fairfield, Iowa.
WE CAUGHT YOU REUSING
At the April 21 Farmers’ Market, Earth Day will be celebrated by having secret shoppers keep an eye out for folks using reusable bags or coffee mugs instead of disposable ones. When they see you being sustainable, they are going to surprise you with a gift like a cookie or a starter plant and say, “We caught you reusing.” This eco-idea is part of a new “I Choose to REUSE” campaign run by Eco-Cycle to help promote the concept of reuse.
CRUISER RIDE AND FREE MOVIE AT THE ST JULIEN
First, the cruiser ride: Eco-Cycle and Green Guru are teaming up for a bike cruise from Green Guru (next door to 303 Vodka at 2500 47th Street) to the St Julien Hotel & Spa (Walnut and 9th Street). The ride will begin at 5 p.m. on April 22 and will end at the St Julien at 6 p.m.
Next, the public is invited to a free screening of the film Tapped at the St Julien Hotel & Spa. All are welcome to this event, sponsored by Eco-Cycle and the St Julien. You need not do the cruiser ride to attend.
Critics have called Tapped “one of the most pivotal movies made to save our lives.” It is “a film that demonstrates the unnecessary detrimental effects single-use products like bottled water have on our environment and local communities.”
Following the screening, which begins at 6 p.m., Eco-Cycle Executive Director Eric Lombardi will lead the launch of Eco- Cycle’s newest Zero Waste campaign to stop this kind of unnecessary environmental destruction before it starts: “I Choose to REUSE.”
And don’t forget, Earth Day is a celebration. Happy Hour at the St Julien will run from 5 p.m. to close.
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