We can celebrate Earth Day every day

– One World


Amy Oberlin

Amy Oberlin

My grandma has this great saying: “Every day is my birthday.”

Why wait to celebrate?

My dear friend Bill Elias at Wild Winds Buffalo Preserve has a pretty cool quote, too. When you ask him how he is doing, he will answer, “I’m brand new.”

Bill has seen many decades pass but he recognizes the promise in each new day.

Friday was Earth Day. It is encouraging that people take a moment to plant trees, pick up windblown trash or otherwise pay homage to the great planet that provides us a home. But I would like to suggest that every day is Earth Day.

There are so many small changes that can add up to a cleaner, healthier world for today’s children. Avoid one-use products like plastic bags, disposable cutlery and paper plates; this will help lessen the garbage stream. When you see a filmy plastic bag blowing by, pick it up and throw it away. Or even better, reuse it.

“Plastics are a huge part of our daily lives, but there are tons of great alternatives to use to help the planet,” says earthday.org. “You can make a huge difference by changing what you buy and how you dispose of plastic.”

Earthday.org provided this list for lessening your reliance on petroleum based products:

• Conduct a plastic audit in your home. Count how many plastic containers, wraps, bottles and bags you purchase for your kitchen and bathroom.

• Research products that have more sustainable packaging for your next grocery shop or online order.

• Ask restaurants to skip the plastic utensils with your delivery or pickup orders.

Here is a another tip, stop mowing so much. Yes, it is fun and the generations before us have trained us to admire flat, boring, green expanses of nothing. A garden, natural features like bushes or trees and for those that want to really break some ground, prairie grasses, can be interspersed with lawn grass for beauty and less need of a polluting two-stroke engine to mow it.

Respect for the planet includes respect for all the life on it, including trees, animals and insects. You might not like bugs, but that is a main food source for birds, frogs, fish, snakes and bats.

Helping a turtle across the road will not only save a life, but it might make you feel good, too. A reader provided the following procedure for safe turtle moving, noting that some people may not know a box turtle from a snapping turtle, and snapping turtles have a mean bite.

• If you are stopping a vehicle in the road be sure to stop on the road and not off to the side. Turn on your flashing emergency lights and look every way and often for oncoming traffic from both directions. Assume that they cannot see you or the turtle.

• No matter which way the turtle is headed, always approach it from behind. That way it will not change directions and try to flee, causing it to become disoriented.

• Firmly and quickly grasp the turtle’s shell from the rear on either side of its tail and gently lift his little rear off the ground. Its rear claws cannot reach you from this position but if you pick it up from the sides you will most likely get scratched. And this is important: never pick up a turtle by its tail The tail is an integral part of the turtle’s exoskeleton and can sustain serious injury if lifted this way, especially larger turtles.

• Turn the turtle around 180 degrees and gently drag it to the side of the road in the same direction it was headed, no matter which side of the road it is closest to, and preferably into some grass or groundcover. If you don’t do this the turtle will likely turn itself around and cross the road again.

• Lower its back end on the ground, turn it around 180 degrees again so its head is pointing away from the road.

• Then hang out with it for a bit to make sure it keeps going that way. Sing the old song “Happy Together” to it.

And if one is too squeamish to the above then a broom, windshield scraper/ brush or umbrella can also be used to coax and guide the little guy to safe habitat.

One World is a weekly column delving into the responsible use of our resources. Comments and suggestions are welcomed at editor@hurdmedia.com.

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