TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- April 22 is Earth Day, a time when people around the world gather to plant trees, hold demonstrations and clean up neighborhoods, roads, parks, streams and lakes to show support for protecting the environment.
Travis Air Force Base, California, will highlight the day with weeklong activities that include a grocery bag art contest and a demonstration to help home gardeners conserve water. The base will also sponsor a booth at the community celebration at the Fairfield Civic Center Library in Fairfield, California, April 21, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Last year we had a booth at Fairfield's event and we will participate this year with plenty of freebies,” said Jonathan Carlson, 60th Civil Engineer Squadron environmental management system coordinator. “They also have a kid’s fishing derby, which begins at 8 a.m., free children’s activities, music and entertainment.”
The civic center library is located at 1000 Webster Street, behind city hall.
From April 23 to 27 children at the child development centers and elementary schools on base will decorate grocery bags to show their love for the environment, said Carlson. The bags will be collected and displayed at the commissary.
On April 25, Jennifer Baumbach will teach an urban gardening class at the Balfour Beatty Community Center at 1 p.m. Baumbach is a master gardener from the University of California Davis and program coordinator for Solano and Yolo counties.
“Having an adequate water supply is closely linked to climate change,” said Penn Craig, 60th CES natural and cultural resources manager. “The urban garden concept enforces the idea of conservation since, unlike traditional agriculture, very little water is wasted. Urban gardening also utilizes little, if any, pesticides – an additional plus for conservation.”
Master gardeners are volunteers trained and certified by the university to provide educational outreach to help home gardeners and community organizations garden sustainably and create a healthy environment.
“Each individual has a responsibility to understand the relationship between mankind and our natural resources,” said Craig. “It’s estimated that more than 7 billion people currently occupy earth. By 2050, that number is expected to increase to nearly 12 billion. If we don’t find ways to make our food source sustainable and healthy, we may not have an adequate food supply.”
Reducing food waste at home also conserves energy and resources by preventing pollution from manufacturing, transporting and hauling food wastes and sending it to a landfill.
Americans tossed 38 million tons of food waste in 2014, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For information on ways to prevent food waste visit: https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home.
Earth Day dates back to April 22, 1970, when Sen. Gaylord Nelson D-Wisconsin, forced environmental causes into the national spotlight. As a result, 20 million Americans held demonstrations around the nation. In December 1970, Congress passed legislation creating the EPA to protect human health and the environment.
While Travis AFB focuses on sustainable gardening, this year the Earth Day Network is focusing on plastic pollution. In fact, the Earth Day theme is “End Plastic Pollution,” according to the EDN, which leads the worldwide observance of Earth Day.
The network plans to educate millions of people about health and other risks associated with the use and disposal of plastics that pollute the oceans, water and wildlife and about the growing body of evidence that decomposing plastics are creating serious global problems, according to the agency’s website.
“Our goals include ending single-use plastics, promoting alternatives to fossil fuel-based materials, promoting 100 percent recycling of plastics, corporate and government accountability and changing human behavior concerning plastics,” the network’s website stated.