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Earth Day is opportunity to learn, have fun
Keep Liberty Beautiful
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April is Earth Month. A whole month to renew your interest (if needed) in looking for ways to take care of Earth.

That does not mean waiting for politicians to solve problems or for scientists to come up with a means to help the Earth. It means what you, personally, can do. If you have trouble coming up with an answer, plan on making a date with me and more than 1,000 other Liberty countians, for April 21 at the 11th annual Earth Day Celebration.

From 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. that Friday at the YMCA, everyone who attends, young and older, has the chance to learn easy ways to change our world. Little lifestyle changes each day at home and at work or school can make big long-term changes in our environment so we have a clean and litter-free world, non-polluted waterways and groundwater, fewer landfills and cleaner air.

It is easy to blame everyone around us for these kind of problems. It’s the Republicans. No, it is Democrats. It is big business. No, it is the petroleum syndicate. I hate to break it to you, but the biggest problem for our environment is you and me. The specific term is called non-point source pollution which means the choices we make every day — whether we litter or whether we secure our trash in our vehicles or let it just fly, whether we let our car leak oil or get it serviced regularly — over time take a toll on our environment.

Multiply our actions by a few billion and you see what a problem we pesky humans are for Earth. Our love of convenience and instant gratification is costly for our planet.

If you feel guilty right now, then our Earth Day Celebration is for you. It is all about environmental education that we have cleverly disguised as fun.

Kids and adults learn more and retain more when we enjoy the learning process. Our goal is to make education about stewardship happen with a lot of fun. The eclectic mix of exhibits and displays, games, crafts and music and entertainment all focus on ways we can make a difference for our planet.

It is the everyday things we do that can make an incredible difference, especially when we all start doing them. An array of celebration activities promote ideas and how-to’s about water conservation, stormwater pollution and non-point source pollution, recycling and waste reduction, growing beautiful plants as well as food, and how litter is crippling our world.

That is what will happen on April 22, International Earth Day. Our celebration takes place the day before so you can put all you learn into practice on the special day. Young or old, I think you will find something that interests you and possibly something you did not know. That is where that sneaky education comes in again.

Mark your calendars now for some environmental fun that can actually be enjoyed by everyone in your family. It is free. The best part, truly, is that it is information that we can all use. Our planet could use a little help. Join us so we can all become good earthkeepers.

To learn more about Earth Day or to volunteer, contact keep Liberty Beautiful at 880-4888 or klcb@coastalnow.net.

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