Earth Day -- Make a difference

Posted By: Kelly Marston

Today's the BIG day.  Everyone talks about it, TV stations are dedicating evenings to being green, and generally grand gestures abound.  While I love the attention that the environment gets today, I also know that one big day isn't what we really need. It is the small actions that you take which add up over time to help us protect the environment.  Can we undo what has been done? Should that be our goal?  I don't know.  What is important is to think about how our daily actions affect each subsequent generation. 

At camp we have always integrated respect for the environment into our program (well before green was more than a color).  Raising our own food, composting, living outside with almost no electricity, conserving water are all just ways of life at Plantation.  We celebrate Earth Day every day, and each summer, campers and counselors learn to live it a little bit more all the time.

Don't give up the big celebration today, just also don't forget to carry those ideals forward into your everyday life.  It really is easy.

• Say no to plastic drinking straws
• Carry your own water bottle and/coffee mug
• Support green business and you can find a great listing by going to the National Green Pages
• Compost.  It is really easy and will greatly reduce your waste. Plus, your garden will love it.
• Try growing some of your own food.  Lettuce is a great place to start and a fresh picked salad can't be beat
• Remember to unplug.  Just a little more time outside, away from electronics will benefit you and the environment. Don't wait until summer camp rolls around to get outside -- have a picnic, find a new place to hike, or just sit under a tree.

In the words of one of the favorite camp songs "Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT/ I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees - please/ Don't it always seem to go/ That you don't know what you got till it's gone/ They paved paradise and put up a parking lot/Hey now, they've paved paradise to put up a parking lot"