It’s Earth Day; and a very special one it is. This time it didn’t quietly slip in and out of the house unnoticed. This Earth Day arrived with fanfare. It’s about time. So, along with millions of others worldwide, let’s wish one another, “Happy Earth Day” and many more to come.
We have much to celebrate today in the Kawarthas. Spring arrived as quietly as we could have asked. Some flooding was inevitable from the huge snow pack left by last winter, but it hasn’t turned into the disaster that it might have become. Winter seemed content to go once it had completed the job of replenishing the groundwater.
What a perfect gift of a perfect winter that snow was. Fields and gardens, parched to dust just seven months ago lie saturated and ready to begin another season of growth. If we can ever learn how to be gentle with our water, we may yet become stewards of the earth rather than just users. And all around us there is evidence that people want to relegate the old season of waste to the dustbin. Finally, people everywhere are awakening to the reality that we can make a difference each in our own homes, together in our communities and collectively throughout the whole watershed.
Here are some ways you can connect with the earth this week. If water is your thing, then try saving at home by not washing the car, limiting shower length and using the dishwasher only once a day. If gardening is your thing, then try setting aside a section of this year’s garden as strictly organic. If trees are your thing, then plant a tree with the whole family as a pledge of faith in the future. If waste reduction is your thing, then try to go a whole week using only reusable bags or bins at the stores. If healthy living is your thing, then walk or bike whenever possible and leave the car at home. If art is your thing, then photograph or paint something inspirational in nature to share with someone close. Just choose one and have some fun.
Whatever you do this week, make it a celebration. Whether you canoe, sail, walk, bike, plant trees or garden, take the time to recognize the transcendent beauty that nature creates all around us. Community gardens are celebrating by starting to prepare our first garden sites at Fleming College. We hope these allotments will be just the first of many all across the city. If you want to see the garden, Travis Phillip, our new gardens manager, will be on site every day. You can book an appointment for him to show you around by calling 328 9208 or by e-mailing Peter Hughes at phughes@flemingc.on.ca . If you would like to see a community garden started in your town, contact one of us to learn how this can be done.
Earth Day represents a celebration of the seasons of life. Our lakes and rivers, fields and trees daily lift us out of the ordinary to remind us of our unique heritage, built into the seasons. So enjoy the activities through which you celebrate this special day, and when you are through let’s join together to toast to Earth Day, 2008, the dawn of a new season of humanity. See you next time.