Patch Picks: Earth Day Projects

Each year, Earth Day -- April 22 -- marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

The height of the flower-child culture in the United States, the 70s opened American's eyes to the problem of gas-guzzling V8 sedans, construction in environmentally sensitive wetlands, industries indiscriminately polluting the air and waterways and the need to preserve planet Earth's precious resources.

Today, Earth Day is observed throughout the country as a reminder of the need to moderate development, protect endangered plant and animal species and to raise consciousness about the sometimes-negative footprint man leaves behind.

Here's some ways you can celebrate Earth Day:

1. Adopt a Hillsborough County road. The Hillsborough County Adopt-A-Road program is a great way to build a sense of community pride and get recognition for your group, business or organization. Those wanting to participate are required to adopt a minimum of one mile of county-maintained roadway and clean it four times a year for at least two years. Groups are welcome to extend the agreement beyond the two-year minimum. Interested groups can go online to apply for a road and sign a contract at http://www.khcbonline.org/programs/#adoptaroad

The Adopt-A-Highway program is similar to the Adopt-A-Road program except that the minimum section of roadway is 2 miles. The rest of the terms remain the same. Groups that are interested in adopting state-maintained roadways should contact the Florida Department of Transportation.

Similar to the Adopt-A-Road program, Adopt-A-Shore groups are required to adopt a 1-mile stretch of shoreline, cleaning it three times a year.

The Adopt-A-Spot program is another way to help take pride in your community, whether you’re a business, a school or just a group of individuals who want to make a difference,

Through the Adopt-A-Spot program, your cleanup possibilities are endless. You could choose to adopt a vacant lot, school campus, neighborhood block, a bus stop, business or other location of your choice. Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful asks that you clean your adopted spot just four times a year with two of the cleanups taking place on or around the Great American Cleanup in April and the Coastal Cleanup in September.

KHCB will assist by providing the cleanup supplies and the sign recognizing your group. All you have to do is provide the manpower and submit a cleanup report form. Visit http://www.khcbonline.org/programs/#adoptaspot.

2. During the month of April, thousands of local residents come out to clean up and beautify our community as part of the Great American Cleanup. The objective is to raise public awareness about litter in our communities. Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful rallies volunteers to make a visible difference in their environment through initiatives such as litter removal, litter prevention, recycling, beautification and improvement programs.

Sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, the Great American Cleanup inspires people to take pride in their communities by encouraging volunteerism, personal action and responsibility.

For information on organizing a cleanup in your community, visit http://www.khcbonline.org/programs/#great_american_cleanup

3. Keep our School Beautiful (KOSB- pronounced Cosby) is a Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful chapter organization for students in high school. This program is designed to join an existing service club, i.e. the Honor Society, Key Club, Ecology Club, etc., or stand on its own. The goal of the KOSB Kids chapter is to encourage high school students to take an active role in the environmental health of their community by mirroring the mission of KHCB, which is to prevent litter, promote recycling and conservation, clean up and beautify our community through action, education, awareness and by fostering stewardship.

The students achieve this by participating in cleanup, beautification and waste reduction events/projects, attending a free environmental conference and mentoring peers regarding environmental issues. KHCB also encourages the students to participate in recycling and waste reduction efforts at their schools and at home.

Visit http://www.khcbonline.org/programs/#kosb for more information.

4. Use your recycling bins. By recycling paper and plastic, you help keep tons of waste out of landfills.

Follow the example of Boyette Springs Elementary School and recycle your telephone books.

Last year, Boyette Springs participated in a Keep Hillsborough County Beautiful and Project ReDirectory, supported by AT&T Real Yellow Pages. The project encouraged student to collect used telephone books to win prizes for their classrooms. Five public schools spent five weeks collecting phone books, with Boyette Springs collecting the most books, 6,898 telephone books. Their collection diverted 12,180 pounds of paper from landfills. As a result of its participation, the school received 10 recycling bins valued at $250 and a check for $150.

5. Plant a tree.

Arbor Day is a nationally celebrated observance that encourages tree planting and care. Founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872, it's celebrated on the last Friday in April by many states but observed on Jan. 21 in Florida.

An Arbor Day celebration can be as large or as small as you want to make it. Your Arbor Day can be a few neighbors gathering to plant trees in a park behind your homes or at a nearby school. It can be a weeklong regional festival with activities for thousands of kids and adults. Arbor Day can be a single class project or an event for the whole school, an inner-city neighborhood planting trees in a vacant lot, or a huge citywide celebration.

For more ideas, download the Arbor Day Foundation Guidebook at http://www.arborday.org/arborday/celebrate.cfm