Some simple steps you can take to help better the environment
Well, the recent cold temperatures might have fool ed you, but the dogwoods and redbuds are blooming so it must be spring. The bright green of new tree leaves gives hope for life ongoing as many humans before us have noted with ceremony. Spring is a good time to turn over a new leaf and do something to help the environment.
If you have even a small environmental concern you probably recycle. That seems to be the first step for many and that’s certainly good. However, you may have wondered, as you’re lugging your recycling can out to the curb, if it actually matters. After all you’re just one person and a lot of folks are over-using our natural resources.
They are obliviously destroying the land and its ecosystems. They are poisoning our air and water thereby enabling climate to respond with catastrophic weather impacts. Recycling is good, but we have to do more because, if truth be told, they is us.
Now comes a new win-win program that can enable you to take next steps and it’s non-regulatory! Partners TenneSEA (Student Environmental Alliance), Chattanooga Water Quality Program, Hamilton County Water Quality Program and Lyndhurst Foundation, have devised a way you can contribute to the health of the environment in your own yard.
My Tennessee is based on a point system similar to the LEED system designed for green builders and Olympic medal awards. My Tennessee provides a checklist of tasks that empowers you to create a beneficial yard. You will decrease stormwater runoff and afford bees, butterflies and other wildlife a safe, healthy haven while helping keep local streams healthier too. For your efforts, you can receive bronze, silver, or gold recognition.
A pilot program is starting up in the Mountain Creek watershed although others can receive help too. Congratulations to the Billingsly/Peet family who received the first gold award last March.
What’s the first thing to do? Get a yard. Then you can begin completing the requirements to earn your awards. Actions are pretty simple at the bronze level and help reach the ultimate goal i.e. keep stormwater in native, non-invasive plants yards. Some tasks include leaving grass clippings in place or composting them and not mowing shorter than 3 inches.
Vegetate everywhere you can and disconnect your downspouts directing them to your plants, not the storm drain or ditch. Collect your pet waste and either dispose in the trash, compost, or bury it deep. If your property touches a stream, create a vegetated edge and do not mow, fertilize or use pesticides.
Now if you want a silver award, you can for example build a rain garden, work to control any soil erosion, plant trees if space allows, and catch rooftop rain directing it to water your garden. Reaching beyond your yard, you can install low-flow fixtures throughout your home.
Going for the gold? Construct additional green infrastructure such as a wetland or bioswale. Replace all impervious pavement with pervious concrete, pavers or other alternatives such as grass pavers. Use Energy Star rated dishwasher, washing machine and water heater.
You can see the complete checklist if you go to carribean-SEA.org and click on the My Tennessee program.
In April not only is it time to think about yards, but it’s also Earth Day. Of course every day is Earth day, but especially as those spring catalogs appear, there is one day a year where we can make special mental notes that we are dependent on this particular planet. We can and should do what we can to keep Earth healthy lest it quit supporting us. There will be plenty of options that whole Earth Day weekend, but the main event is on Sunday, April 22 at Coolidge Park from 2-10 p.m. It’s free!
On the 21st, there is also an event happening at Reflection Riding and that same day you can be admitted free to any national park. In this year of the bird, TN Ornithological Society is holding “A Weekend Adventure” April 20-22 featuring an April 21 dinner gathering with Dr. Chris Haney, conservation researcher and author on Defenders of Wildlife’s blog.
In this time when Mr. Pruitt is conducting egregious assaults on our environmental protections by gutting EPA, we can each take extra actions. While an action may seem small to you, if more people do just a little, it adds up to something that will make a difference. Start recycling if you don’t already and add another pro-planet action too.
Go for it and Happy Earth Day!
Sandra Kurtz is an environmental community activist, chair of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, and is presently working through the Urban Century Institute. You can visit her website to learn more at enviroedu.net