Brewster trash targeted by Earth Day cleanup volunteers

BREWSTER – The city is going to undergo a trash-out on Earth Day, April 22, when a group of volunteers led by Brewster resident CasSandra Hogan and La Milpa owner Ernie Santos gather at the city park at 10 a.m. where vests, gloves and bags will be available for everyone. The following two hours will be devoted to “cleaning as much garbage up as possible,” said Hogan. “We would then like to meet back at the park at noon where La Milpa will be feeding everyone who helped tacos.” 

This Earth Day event held last year drew around 45 people and they picked up 150 bags of trash, Hogan said. She hopes to see that benchmark broken this year.

Earth Day is more than a half century old. From its founding in 1970 to the present day it now involves more than a billion people worldwide in more than 190 countries and is considered the birth of the environmental movement.

It was a massive oil spill off the California coast that triggered creation of the first Earth Day. Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson

Earth Day has spawned several related movements including:

• The Canopy Project: Improves the environment through planting trees now numbering in the tens of millions.

• The Great Global Cleanup: A worldwide campaign to rid the planet of waste and plastic pollution.

• Sustainable Fashion: The fashion industry creates 150 billion garments a year and almost 90 percent of those wind up in a landfill. Fashion for the Earth refers to a clothing supply chain that is ecologically and socially responsible.

• The Climate Literacy Campaign: Launched in 2020 the Climate Literacy campaign, urged governments attending the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021 (COP26) to make climate literacy a core feature of school curriculums across the globe. Four hundred organizations representing 100 countries and more than 300 million signed on in support of stepped-up action at the climate summit.

• Educators Network: More than 95percent of primary and secondary schools in the U.S. and millions of schools globally observe Earth Day each year. Established in 2004 Educators Network reaches educators in 149 countries, providing students with the knowledge and skills to build environmental and climate literacy. 

• Green Ribbon Schools: Launched in 2011 in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Department of Education, the Green Ribbon Schools Program is the first federal program that recognizes public and private schools that reduce environmental impact and costs, improve the health of students and staff, and provide interdisciplinary environmental education.

• Landmark environmental laws: The Clean Act, the Clean Waters Act, the Endangered Species Act.

• MobilizeU: Launched in 2012, MobilizeU empowers college organizations and students to make a difference on their campuses while also encouraging universities and colleges to set an example for the rest of the higher education community to follow. More than 500 colleges and universities in 51 countries and every U.S. state have participated.

To learn more about Earth Day visit its website at info@earthday.org.