Here is my Inside/Outside message, with something for everybody to celebrate Earth Day, which is officially April 22 but also observed on other dates.
Please start by paying attention to national politics and do something at your desk (“inside”) but also do something local and out-of-doors (“outside”).
There’s the frightening increased risk of nuclear war with North Korea, there’s Donald Trump’s crude and vulgar sexuality that pops up regularly in the news, there’s bizarre tweets on Twitter and there’s the unprecedented changes in the cabinet and White House staff. But perhaps the most troublesome aspect of the administration of President Donald Trump is the drastic shift in environmental policy — not just a reversal of many of President Barack Obama’s forward moves, but also contrary to the views of Richard Nixon and George W. Bush.
It was Nixon, a Republican, who signed the all-important bi-partisan 1971 Clean Water Act, and if not for that legislation, our beloved Millers River would still be badly polluted.
So, to mark Earth Day, take a stand against Trump’s destructive climate-change-denial policies. Aside from his assault on public lands, he decided the right person to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is Scott Pruitt, a man who, as attorney general in Oklahoma, fought tooth and nail against the EPA’s efforts to battle pollution of air and water.
I think the best thing an individual can do is to join the Natural Resources Defense Council, perhaps the nation’s strongest environmental organization. The Sierra Club is another good one, and within Massachusetts, two stellar groups are The Trustees (formerly Trustees of Reservations) and Massachusetts Audubon.
Also, join a local environmental organization. Having so many groups in our region is impressive and should be a source of pride. Here’s a list: Athol Bird and Nature Club, Millers River Watershed Council, Friends of the Alan E. Rich Environmental Park, North Quabbin Trails Association, Friends of Quabbin, North Quabbin Energy, North Quabbin Garden Club, Seeds of Solidarity, Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, and East Quabbin Land Trust. Many of these have web sites.
A number of area businesses sell flowers and plants. Patronize them for Earth Day and beautify your home and yard. Grow food and flowers. Here are just three (all in Athol): King’s Farm, McMannis Florist, and Flowerland.
Take a hike. Royalston Falls and Tully Mountain are favorite destinations for a woodland experience with a dramatic reward. To find trails, explore the websites of the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, the North Quabbin Trails Association, the Trustees, and North Quabbin Woods (a project of the North Quabbin Community Coalition).
Roadside cleanups are scheduled in Warwick and Royalston. The Warwick spring cleanup is Saturday, April 21 from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch. In Royalston, the event is Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to noon, and the community calendar says this: “Pick up litter on your street. Bag it. Bring it to the transfer station for free disposal. Charlie Scribner has provided motivation, trash bags, gloves and hot dogs for participants for decades.”
The Athol-based Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust has a very ambitious program, and what I like about this is the opportunity to get together with people of all ages, from area towns and beyond. Here are details:
Friday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Skyfields Arboretum in Athol, organized by KimLynn Nguyen, who says “Volunteers can come throughout the day; please email me at service_americorps@mountgrace.org if you expect to attend.” Planned activities are: cutting the vegetation around the blueberry bushes, repairing stone walls, trail maintenance, sign post building for conservation areas, removal of invasive plants, labeling photos and organized a storage shed.
KimLynn added, “Celebrate Earth Day by going outside to appreciate the wonders of land. Skyfields, Mount Grace’s headquarters, is a wonderful spot to take a walk and relax. Join us for a couple of hours on Friday to make Skyfields an even better beautiful area to enjoy nature.”
Saturday, April 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., trail maintenance at Alderbrook Meadows Accessible Trail in Northfield, organized by Fletcher Harrington, who explained:
“Earth Day is more than just a day to appreciate our planet and its natural spaces; it’s a time to follow through on our good intentions to steward and build connections with our natural surroundings. Join us to do just this at an exciting new accessible trail and a scenic conservation area. Participants will also have an opportunity to work with low-environmental-impact ‘Diamond Piers’ footings and learn about the carpentry involved in constructing a cantilevered viewing platform. Lunch will be provided to those who RSVP (to steward_americorps@mountgace.org).”
Saturday, April 21, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Crystal Lake Community Forest at Heywood Hospital, Gardner organized by Lara Kazo. Volunteers will install signs, maintain trails and remove litter.
Earth Day facts from Wikipedia: “On January 28th, 1969, a well drilled by Union Oil Platform A off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, blew out. More than three million gallons of oil spewed, killing over 10,000 seabirds, dolphins, seals, and sea lions. As a reaction to this natural disaster, activists were mobilized to create environmental regulation, environmental education, and Earth Day.
“The first Earth Day celebrations took place [in April 1970] in two thousand colleges and universities, roughly ten thousand primary and secondary schools, and hundreds of communities across the United States. More importantly, it brought 20 million Americans out into the spring sunshine for peaceful demonstrations in favor of environmental reform. It now is observed in 192 countries, and coordinated by the nonprofit Earth Day Network….Environmental groups have sought to make Earth Day into a day of action to change human behavior and provoke policy changes.”