WINNEMUCCA - Monday, April 22, is Earth Day, where more than a billion people across the world will be active participants in this annual day of environmental action.
Some people may find themselves overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite amount of information addressing the earth's problems - climate change and a rise in environmental disasters across the globe to name just a couple.
With so many day-to-day life obligations it's not hard to turn a blind eye on the big pig picture. Let's focus on what we as a community in Northern Nevada can do in celebration of Earth Day and how each person can make a difference - no matter what physical and mental limitations exist and no matter how much spare time is available.
Being relatively new to Winnemucca, I was pleased that there are businesses like DeLong Construction and Hoss Disposal who maintain the Community Garden's recycle bin for locals to use - for such a small town it's nice that there are "green" options in our community for recycling (another option is to recycle at the local landfill).
People can grow their own food (at home or at the Community Garden) to reduce their carbon footprint and "food miles," among many other benefits of backyard gardening.
For people interested in composting, they can compost at home or bring vegetable food scraps to the Community Garden's compost; this will reduce the amount of waste going to our local landfill.
Support the local farmers by buying locally grown produce from the Winnemucca Farmers Market this summer (Thursday evenings on the Nixon lawn - stay tuned for more information).
After the holiday season, people can drop off Christmas tree(s) for recycling at the Community Garden; the Garden chips the trees and uses the mulch to reduce weeds within the Garden.
Contact Friends of Nevada Wilderness - they have many rewarding projects planned to improve the landscape and environment of Northern Nevada and are in need of volunteers to donate time in some incredibly pristine places.
For families with children, contact the Nevada Outdoor School to find out what they have planned for kids in the coming months. Their programs are not only fun, but they also educate children about the environment and have an array of fun activities for kids.
Plant lawns using native seed. This will reduce the water needed to maintain healthy and green lawns. Those are just a handful of ways to improve our earth and the environment for this year's Earth Day and for future generations.
The Winnemucca Community Garden improves peoples health - both physically and mentally, the health of the environment, and is an important piece of the puzzle that makes Winnemucca a more desirable place to live and visit.
To learn more about the Winnemucca Community Garden, please visit our website at www.winnemucca-community-garden.org , call us at (775) 623-2333 or email us at winngarden@yahoo.com.
Tanya Baxter is the AmeriCorps Community Garden Coordinator.
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