So what are you doing on April 22nd?
On Tuesday -- and throughout the coming week -- more than six million Canadians will participate in events and activities that address ways to green our planet.
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Lois Verfaillie led the Green Teem at Victoria General Hospital.
"Earth Day is the largest environmental event of the year," says Mark Miller, Earth Day Manitoba co-ordinator. "Last year, over 500 million people worldwide took part. Earth Day is about making people aware that we all have the responsibility to be good stewards of the environment."
Earth Day is also a call to action.
In fact, the first Earth Day, celebrated in 1970 in the United States, involved 20 million Americans taking part in college sit-ins that inspired U.S. Congress to pass clean air and water acts and establish the Environmental Protection Agency.
"Earth Day encourages people to go out and do something positive," says Miller.
Many Manitobans are heeding this call.
The students at Hazelridge School in Hazelridge, Man., are picking up garbage and recyclables around their community. About 500 residents of Killarney, southwest of Winnipeg, are expected to take part in an Earth Day walking/running challenge to raise funds to build wheelchair-accessible paths along the scenic lakeside.
"I hope more rural communities take the initiative to get people outdoors and active, enjoying their communities and appreciating nature," says Killarney school teacher Stephanie Outhwaite, who is organizing the event, along with the help of local students who are planning fun-filled activities that will also teach kids facts about the environment.
In and around Winnipeg, many large public events are being organized to celebrate Earth Day. As well, schools and community groups are planning environmentally friendly projects. And some individuals are also taking the initiative and encouraging people to make a difference.
For example, Winnipegger Sue Ostapowich has launched the One Bag Challenge on her website (www.sueostapowich.com) and is asking everyone in the city who goes for a walk or run over the next few days to take a garbage bag along and pick up litter along their favourite pathway.
"We are hoping to get 1,000 or more Manitobans involved in the challenge," says Miller, who is helping to organize. "We have also contacted Earth Day co-ordinators across Canada and want to make this a national event."
Of course, the overall aim of Earth Day is to motivate people to incorporate eco-friendly living into their daily lives all year long. There are many local examples of Winnipeggers serving as a catalyst for change and inspiring people at work and in their communities to take up the cause.
For example, Lois Verfaillie recently spearheaded the first Green Team at Victoria General Hospital.
"We are starting small with better recycling and waste reduction," says the emergency department communication clerk, who also tries to be as green as possible herself, by biking and busing to work, composting, using only phosphate-free detergents and shopping at second-hand stores.
Her plans for the hospital include replacing all the styrofoam and plastic plates and cutlery with compostable or reusable alternates, instituting the Winnipeg Transit Eco Pass Program and getting more showers installed so people will consider biking to work.
"I don't want to just pay lip service to green ideas. I want to see concrete actions taken," she says. "There are lots of little things we can do."
Susan Pollack is also serving as a local role model. She works in customer relations at scholastic publisher Portage & Main Press and has encouraged her workplace to become more environmentally friendly.
"I try to be as green at home as possible so I got the idea of having a green office," says Pollack. "I started the ball rolling and everyone here got on board and began contributing."
They started by taking small steps, such as buying refillable ball point pens and 100 per cent recycled paper and returning their photocopier toner cartridges for re-filling. Now, the publishing house prints all their books on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper -- which means the logging and paper-making practices must adhere to environmentally friendly criteria -- and they use only ink made of vegetable dyes, instead of toxic chemicals. The company is also looking at sending all their marketing materials digitally to reduce their paper use.
Pollack, however, says she hasn't made any plans for April 22.
"I try to celebrate Earth Day all year long."
cheryl.binning@freepress.mb.ca
Here are some of the Earth Day events taking place in and around Winnipeg:
Oak Hammock Marsh (Hwy. #67, between Hwy.# 7 and #8)
Sun. April 20, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission: $5 for adults, $4 for seniors/youth and $18 per family
Today's activities include a workshop led by science and technology experts from Norwex (a company that makes environmentally friendly cleaning and personal care products) on phosphorous in the lakes and how the choices we make at home can improve water quality and our lake ecosystems.
"We are focusing on the simple things that people can do to improve our environment," say Nathalie Bays, education coordinator at Oak Hammock Marsh. "We want people to learn to be more conscious of the products they purchase and the impact they have on the environment."
There will also be tours of their environmentally-friendly building, which features: a tall grass prairie roof that keeps the indoor temperature cool and provides habitat for wildlife; an air conditioning system that uses underground artesian wells as its cooling source; and sewage lagoons that treat waste water and send clean water back into the wetland.
There are also demonstrations on how wetlands filter water, marsh walks, and, for the kids, face painting and crafts.
Fort Whyte Centre (1961 McCreary Rd.)
Sun. April 20, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Free Admission
Living a carbon-lite lifestyle is the theme of today's event, which includes displays on biking and organic food and activities such as calculating your environmental footprint and taking a pledge to reduce carbon emissions for the chance to win prizes.
There's also outdoor family entertainment, voyageur canoe rides, historical reenactments at the teepee encampment and pioneer sod house, crafts, guided bison hikes and trail walks.
"We are encouraging people to take alternative transportation to Fort Whyte for our Earth Day event," says Maureen Krauss, VP of operations. "Cycle here and enjoy our beautiful new bike trail that adjoins Fort Whyte to Sterling Lyon Parkway, right down to McGillivray Blvd."
There is also a free shuttle service leaving the University of Winnipeg Portage Ave. bus stop at noon and the Polo Park bus loop terminal at 12:30 p.m., with return buses leaving Fort Whyte at 4 p.m. There is a free gift waiting for everyone who arrives on foot, bike or bus.
Earth Day Forum on Alternative Energy
Victoria Inn (1808 Wellington Ave.)
Tues. April 22, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Free Admission
Alternative energy sources -- such as geothermal heat, wind and solar power, and ethanol fuel -- will be discussed at this free public forum moderated by Rt. Honourable Edward Schreyer and featuring presentations from Manitoba Hydro, Environment Canada, the International Energy Council and other energy and environmental experts. A new project underway at the Brady Landfill to generate energy from methane gases will also be reviewed.
"Manitoba is one of the leading province's spearheading the move towards alternative energy sources in Canada," says conference organizer Mark Miller. "For example, we have the highest per capita of buildings and homes using geothermal energy. The forum is a chance to enlighten the public about this and other innovative energy options that are coming available. "
There is also a trade show highlighting the latest in environmentally-friendly products.
Living Prairie Museum (2795 Ness Ave.)
Sun. April 27, 10 to 4 p.m. Admission is free
If everyone in the world lived like the average Canadian, we would need at least four earths to sustain our lifestyle and provide all the materials and energy we currently use. With this in mind, over-consumption and waste is the theme at this Earth Day event, which includes recycling demonstrations and a presentation on practical tips to incorporate green living in your daily life.
To visually show just how much waste plastic shopping bags generate, organizers are creating a chain of 1,000 plastic bags -- the average number of bags used by a family of four in a year -- that will run over 500 metres.
Participants are also being encouraged to drop off their old cell phones at the event so that they can be donated to the Phones for Food program, which sells them back to companies for refurbishing and gives the money to local food banks. Every day around 426,000 cell phones around the world are retired as people buy newer and better phones. Many of these mobile phones end up in landfills where they leak toxic substances such as lead and mercury into ground water.
The public is also invited to enter the "Stuffed?" photo competition. If you have captured an image depicting local waste, send it to mbearthday@gmail.com or drop it off at the Living Prairie Museum by Friday April 25. Selected images will be on display at the Earth Day celebration and winning entries receive a $25 Mountain Equipment Co-Op gift certificate.
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