Caroline was bumped out of Team Bumblebee's top spot this week by YU TAKEUCHI, but Ryan still holds the lead for the Green Lacewings! Way to go, team!

Monday, April 22nd was Earth Day, and some members of CIPM participated in the the cleanup at Lake Raleigh yesterday. There were activities taking place all over the Triangle, also, inluding a festival in Dix Park celebrating Earth Day. I take a lot of pride in the efforts our center takes part in to do our part, from the commitment to sustainability through everyday actions, like recycling and composting in the office, to big-picture ideas like reducing pesticides and teaching younger generations about agriculture, STEM, and invasive species. Growing up in the 80s, I remember when we threw everything in one can at home, but then we started to come home telling our parents to sort and clean our recyclables, which pushed our municipalities to offer curbside recycling. (Although these days there is a debate as to whether these campaigns were to improve environmental stewardship, or to increase our dependence on plastic and combat changes to consumer’s oil consumption, but as kids' our hearts were in the right place!) But now that we are all raising our own kids, it is exciting to see them come home with sustainability lessons for us to make part of our daily routines, and we are living in a time when people are much more media literate and well-informed about the impact our actions have on the environment. This year, NC DEQ has announced a new environmental literacy program for K-12 that will hopefully provide them with life skills in conservation and stewardship.  

Lauren Stutts, Clarissa, her husband Archie, Faith, Erik and his wife all had a great time participating in Earth Day Clean up on Monday. The weather was a bit chilly but felt good. There was a lot of trash to collect, and they even had boats out on the water. There are a lot of beautiful areas along the trail. I would definitely encourage more of our CIPM staff to join this effort one day in the future. We will try to post when they announce future cleanup events!

I see more and more waterway cleanup events from year to year here in Raleigh,as well as community garden events, stormwater improvements, and the ever-popular Adopt-A-Highway Program. I see efforts here in Pittsboro to improve the water quality of the Haw River and to hold businesses accountable for the damage done to local waterways, and a lot has been done locally to improve accountability for deforestation due to development (although maybe not enough yet). A big push over the last couple of years that I have noticed has been more community initiatives supporting pollinator health, invasive species, and the dangers of plastic & forever chemicals in our environment. No matter what projects you are working on here at CIPM, you have been part of trying to make this a healthier and safer planet for future generations. As a communications professional, when I see that the public is taking part in these efforts, I am thankful for the work you all are doing to increase public awareness of these issues. It is important to remember, if we are not getting these messages out to the groups that need to hear them, we are not doing our whole job. 

Over the years, Earth Day has been a day to connect with your community and focus on the local environment, and so I wanted to share some of the other local events that I saw reported in news and social media this weekend. This Friday is Arbor Day, so Dix Park held an Earth Day/Arbor Day celebration last weekend and held a seedling giveaway and a screening of The Lorax and the short documentary "A Plastic Ocean." They also had tons of activities for people of all ages, from puppetry and outdoor games to coral reef education and crafts, disc golf, and food trucks. The City of Raleigh is also encouraging locals to sign up for volunteer opportunities at Raleigh Parks through their Reclink website. There are cleanup events, park maintenance events, and educational opportunities that go on season after season. They also announced the winners of the 2024 Environmental Awards at the celebration on Saturday. It is so wonderful seeing our communities celebrating the sustainability efforts of local citizens and organizations. The Trashion Competition photos were fantastic, and showed such amazing creativity! 

Apex held its own EarthFest event on Saturday, with vendors such as The Scrap Exchange and Repair Cafe set up to inspire creativity and reusing & repurposing items around the house or for music! Durham, Chapel Hill, and area parks and museums had other Arbor Day and Earth Day events, and more coming this weekend, including the Mordecai Plant Sale in Raleigh, Wake Forest’s Annual Herb Sale this weekend and next. This is also a great time of year for garden and farm tours and historical site tours, so check out Eventbrite or WRAL Out & About for great activities for you and your family every weekend! 

I am very proud to see CIPM members and my local community getting together to encourage good environmental stewardship and promote community engagement. I hope this information gives you even more GREAT ideas for Earth Day in the future. Thank you all for sharing about your Earth Day activities!