HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE!

What is Earth Day?

Apr. 22, a day to celebrate the environment. The first Earth Day was organized in 1970 to promote the ideas of ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and highlight growing concern over pollution of the soil, air, and water. Earth Day is now observed in 140 nations with outdoor performances, exhibits, street fairs, and television programs that focus on environmental issue.

The true spirit of the day is through volunteer work, to the community and to the planet.

You can plant trees, make nature crafts, learn more about the environment, recycle every day, pick up litter, hold a fair, teach others about the environment, compost with worms, or even buy a carbon offset to make up for greenhouse gas emissions, just to name a few. Just one thing done for the environment can lead to a whole world of good.

You can make a difference:

- On campus

- At Home

- In your Community

- Across the World

Be heard:

- Donate to a worthy cause

- Write your Government Officials

- PLAN AN EVENT to celebrate with friends, family and co-workers

- Visit other Earth Day sites

FORTWHYTE ALIVE CELEBRATES EARTH DAY THIS WEEKEND!

Events For Sunday April 26, 2009

EcoAdventure Race & Earth Day Celebration

First heat starting at 8:30am

This intense 42km race combines popular methods of people-powered
transportation. Canoes, kayaks, bikes and blades are some of the
carbon-neutral vehicles that 300 participants will use to beat the
clock in this fun urban race. Be at the start line to witness the sight
of dozens of canoes and kayaks cruising across Lake Devonian. Or, cheer
at the finish line as racers celebrate their victory.

Earth Day Family Activities

1:00 –4:00 pm

From family entertainers and crafts to Voyageur canoe rides,
wandering minstrels to informative displays, there’s something for
everyone today!

FREE admission all day!

Visit www.fortwhyte.org for more information

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I also went to the library on the weekend to pick-up some things for my kids and this is what I found to share with them:

Book Titles

There are many books that celebrate the earth and show you how to keep the earth clean and healthy.

• Celebrating Earth Day (Circle the Year With Holidays), written by Janet McDonnell and illustrated by Diana Magnuson.
• Clifford’s Spring Clean-Up, written by Norman Bridwell.
• Earth Day, written by Linda Lowery and illustrated by Mary Bergherr.
• Earth Day, written by Willma W. Gore.
• Every Day Is Earth Day: A Craft Book (Holiday Crafts for Kids), written by Kathy Ross and illustrated by Sharon Lane Holm.
• For the Love of Our Earth, written by P.K. Hallinan.
• Gover’s 10 Terrific Ways to Help our Wonderful World, written by Anna Ross and illustrated by Tom Leigh.
• Just a Dream, written by Chris Van Allsburg.
• Keeper of the Swamp, written by Ann Garrett and illustrated by Karen Chandler.
• Mother Earth, written by Nancy Luenn and illustrated by Neil Waldman.
• Mr. Garbage, written by William H. Hooks and illustrated by Kate Duke.
• Pollution? No Problem!, written by David Morichon.
• Tanya’s Big Green Dream, written by Lida Glaser and illustrated by Susan McGinnis.
• 365 Ways for You and Your Children to Save the Earth One Day at a Time, written by Michael and Pat Hilton.

Photo by Reiusu, Flickr

Green Gatherings

I received a call earlier today from a local organization wanting advice on how to make their annual event extraordinary and green. They wanted it to still feel like a gala evening……….

Having an eco-friendly or "green" event doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice elegance, style or creativity. It simply means that you’re planning your event and making eco-friendly choices in the design.

You might have to start thoughts for planning an eco-friendly event with understanding exactly what “eco-friendly” is. Eco-friendly, environmentally friendly and nature friendly are all synonymous. Presently there is no exact measurement that measures what is successfully eco-friendly and what is not. Using recycled products, organic foods and all natural products are examples of what could make your event a "green" one. Your decision to plan an eco-friendly event is already a success just by you coming up with creative ideas that help to preserve our environment.

As always, any event you’re planning should be signature “you”. From food and location to favours and flowers, there are many ways to incorporate eco-friendly accents into the fabric of your event.

A green event is like a regular event but better – way better. It integrates environmentally friendly practices in every aspect of the experience – from planning to production to tear down. It doesn’t take long to see that small changes at every level can have a major impact on the size of your environmental footprint.

A green event:

1. Utilizes a recycling and composting system to mitigate waste.
2. Examines alternatives to disposables – such as renting plates and cutlery and using bioplastic or recyclables in the place of styrofoam and plastic.
3. Sources locally for catering, and other goods.
4. Considers organic and fairly traded products and ingredients.
5. Chooses bulk over individual servings (ex: sugar, condiments, butter, milk…)
6. Sources alternative transportation such as hybrid transport, public transport or makes it easy for people to cycle and park their bikes.
7. Uses double sided post consumer recycled paper for communication – or utilizes online registration and information systems.
8. Composts food waste.
9. Implements a carbon credits program to offset carbon emissions from high energy output activities such as air travel and importing or shipping goods.
10. Makes smarter, more efficient choices!

I recently found this great little video on hosting a green event and this is the perfect time to share it with all of you.

http://www.videojug.com/interview/hosting-green-events-2

Enjoy and make your next event a green one!

^{Photo by cfe.fcee, Flickr}

We Did It…. ONE MILLION ACTS OF GREEN and Counting!

I’ve been a supporter of this show and this initiative for a while now and I am so pleased we did it!

However, the work still continues…….

If you haven’t joined yet ….we are encouraging Events by Emma clients and friends to support this fantastic initiative.

Getting started is easy! An act of green can be something as simple as using a reusable water bottle.

To begin adding your acts simply visit www.onemillionactsofgreen.com and select “Create an Account.”

Once you have your account up and running please join the Events by Emma group at http://greennexxus.cbc.ca/group.aspx?id=1840

To join, go to “Groups and Challenges”, choose “find groups” and type Events by Emma in the search field (note that you have to select "community groups" first). Click the Events by Emma group then click join!

We hope everyone will get involved. One act at a time, we can change how we live and how we treat the planet, because we are more powerful together than we can ever be apart.

^{Photo by Juttaschnecke, Flickr}

Incorporating "GREEN" into every event!

In 2009, Events by Emma will challenge ALL of our clients and ourselves to modify at least one event element (overall concept, design, décor) to be more earth-friendly.

We will journal our progress and share them with you. Not just our ideas or recommendations, but the outcomes, the cost differences and the anticipated impact the modification made and could make on our environment.