Bryan County is invited to join millions of people around the world in the celebration of Earth Day Tuesday, April 22.
Locally, the Coastal Bryan Tree Foundation is having their annual Root Ball – and the fact it’s planned the same week as Earth Day is not a coincidence.
"As well as being a fundraiser for Coastal Bryan Tree Foundation, the Root Ball is a celebration of Earth Day" foundation President Wendy Bolton said. "Foundation volunteers are very busy with last minute preparations and everything is coming together for a truly wonderful event. But for it to be a success, we need a lot of community support so I encourage everyone in Bryan County to attend and be a part of it. One day your children can tell their grandchildren that you were involved in the organization that planted all the majestic live oaks in our community."
The Root Ball will be Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. at the Speir-Brogdon Building featuring the Ben Tucker Jazz Trio of Savannah. The evening will include music, food, a live and silent auction and emcee Sonny Dixon. To purchase tickets, call Carole Brogdon at 756-5884 or Bolton at 727-2544, or visit www.coastalbryantreefoundation.org.
Bolton said everyone in the community will have a chance to help plant more trees later this year when they have their second tree planting in Henderson Park. Total, they hope to plant 100 trees there by the end of the year.
"In the spirit of Earth Day, if we all would pledge to do one thing to reduce our carbon footprint, it would make a difference," Bolton said. "Just one thing; decide you’re going to start recycling plastic, newspaper or aluminum cans – or even better – help us plant trees!"
Earth Day first started in 1970, aimed at having people consider what they’re doing individually to help protect our earth.
Some of the more popular activities include plantings; making a nature-inspired craft such as a birdhouse or birdfeeder; reducing, reusing and recycling all day long; cleaning up litter from a roadway or stretch of beach; or trying to take on the mindset that every day is Earth Day.
Consider this: a banana takes three to four weeks to degrade, a paper bag takes one month and a cigarette butt takes two to five years. If not recycled, a soup can takes 80 to 100 years to degrade naturally, a soda 200 to 500 years and a non-recycled plastic milk jug is estimated to take 1,000 years, according to information from Cheryl Wynn of the Central Savannah River Area Environmental Science Education Cooperative.
Do an online search for "buy earth-friendly," and there are tons of sites that offer earth-friendly products, tips and product reviews. LetsGoGreen.biz is one such site, offering household products that reduce carbon emissions and conserve resources. In honor of Earth Day, the site has 25 percent off their products, just enter "friend" in the coupon code.
Here are some other regional events in honor of Earth Day:
- The Tommy Talton Band will play in support of the Savannah Riverkeeper Saturday night, April 19, at Live Wire Music Hall in Savannah, visit www.livewiremusichall.com for tickets.
- The 12th annual Earth Day in Savannah is themed "Local Action…Global Impact." Saturday, April 19, in Forsyth Park there will entertainment, food, crafts, information booths and activities for the whole family. The RecycleRama begins at 8 a.m. and the festival starts at 11 a.m.
- The Skidaway Island State Park will have their Earth Day celebration with Native American traditional dances, a reptile show, , vendors, music, food and entertainment. Parking for the day is $3, call 598-2300.