Seventeen Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Earth Day is right around the corner--Tuesday, April 22, to be exact. Unfortunately, it's a holiday not many people celebrate--at least not actively, not the way many of us celebrate say, Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Halloween. There are, however, lots of ways to actively celebrate Earth Day--on the day itself, and throughout the year. Here are seventeen ways to celebrate. The first five apply to you only if you live in the Richmond area, or have plans to travel here, but the other twelve can be done anywhere. (Actually, the voting portion of #4 can be done anywhere.)

If you live in the RVA...

1. Attend the Enrichmond Earth Day Festival from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, April 26. The event features live music, local food and drink, a vendor marketplace, and more, some of which is mentioned below. Learn more at http://www.earthdayrichmond.org/.http://www.earthdayrichmond.org/.

2. As part of the Earth Day Festival, tour the heron rookery . The heron rookery walk begins at 3:00 PM and runs until 5:00 PM. A $5 participation fee benefits the Virginia Audubon Council and the Richmond Audubon.

3. Run the Race Without a Trace 5k at 10:00 AM on Saturday, April 26. The finish line is at the Enrichmond Earth Day Festival, which begins at 11:00 AM.

4. Vote for your favorite rain barrel in three different categories at http://cordpurainbarrels.wordpress.com/. These rain barrels were decorated by local elementary school students and will be on display at the Earth Day Festival, after which they will be put into use around the city. Voting ends on Friday, April 25.

Above is just one of the many rain barrels decorated by local elementary school students. Visit http://cordpurainbarrels.wordpress.com to vote for your favorite by Friday, April 25. The rain barrels will eventually be placed around the city.

5. Volunteer for local, environmentally-minded organizations, such as Friends of Pocahontas State Park, which is currently seeking new volunteers, or the James River Advisory Council, which hosts an annual clean-up of the James River.

No matter where you live...

1. Recycle any used materials you can, such as paper, plastic, aluminum, and glass.

2. Wash clothes in cold water.

3. Don't run the dishwasher until it is full.

4. Walk, bike, carpool, or use public transportation whenever you can.

5. Buy locally grown produce--or grow your own!

6. Pull through the space at the parking lot. Doing so can save gas, as your car uses more gasoline when in reverse than it does when moving forward.

7. Pick up after your pets. Doing so helps prevent waste from ending up in local waterways.

8. Turn the heat down (or the AC up) when you go to bed or leave the house.

9. Pick up litter.

10. Hang laundry dry.

11. To save both time and gas, run all your errands in one trip.

12. Turn the water off when you brush your teeth.

Happy Earth Day!