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Home My WebLink AboutEnv - Earth Day 2011 Status ReportREPORT TO: Environmental Advisory Committee DATE OF MEETING: 2011-03-24 SUBMITTED AND Janice Ouellette, Facilitator, Volunteer Resources & PREPARED BY: Community Engagement (x 2227) WARD(S) INVOLVED: All DATE OF REPORT: 2011-03-08 SUBJECT: EARTH DAY 2011 RECOMMENDATION: For information. REPORT: In 2011, the City of Kitchener Earth Day Committee will offer the following initiatives: EARTH HOUR -- Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million homes and businesses turned their lights off for one hour to make their stand against climate change and, since then, participation has grown exponentially. Earth Hour 2010, the biggest Earth Hour ever, saw a record 128 countries and territories participate. Iconic buildings and landmarks switched off. People across the world from all walks of life turned off their lights and came together in celebration and contemplation of our planet. th On March 26, 2011 from 8:30 – 9:30 pm, city staff will power down lighting, computers and other non-essential electrical equipment, with the exception of safety lighting, or in the cases where facility spaces are rented out for special events. Staff will also encourage citizens, other businesses, and organizations to participate in this initiative through web-sites, posters and radio ads and social media. Community members are encouraged to register their commitment on the Earth Hour web-site to be counted with others across the world and make their voices heard. A local community group will be holding an event in civic square from 7:30 – 9:30 pm to celebrate the environment through music, games, and a countdown to Earth Hour lights out. CLEAN-UPS- Research shows that when community members get involved in cleaning their neighbourhoods, parks and open spaces, they are less likely to litter and are more likely to keep it clean! Recognizing that community clean-ups are easy ways to get many people involved, that they bring neighbours, colleagues or classmates together in a common cause, and that they may build awareness of how a small act for a short time can have a large physical impact and may help participants develop a sense of their influence on their environment, the Earth Week Planning Committee has decided to continue to provide the following litter pick-up opportunities this year. 20 Minute Makeover – The 20 Minute Make-over was first organized in the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo in 2006. In 2007, the City of Cambridge also participated. This th initiative will continue again this year on Friday April 15 when individuals, businesses, city staff, councilors and other organizations will be encouraged to take 20 minutes from their busy schedules at or around 2 p.m. to clean up the grounds around their work, schools, or homes. Groups can register on-line through the City of Kitchener í ó ï website or by calling our Volunteer Resources. The City will provide registered groups with gloves and specially marked bags along with posters to organizers in each business. Last year, 42 businesses and 900 people in Kitchener participated. Tim Hortons Community Clean-Up – The litter pick-up, organized by City staff, will th be held on Saturday, April 16 from 10 am to 12 pm in Victoria Park. There is no pre- registration required ---individuals, families and groups are welcome. Participating high school students can also log hours for their community service requirements. Tim Hortons generously sponsors this event by contributing t-shirts, refreshements, prizes and significant promotion. In 2010, even with extremely cold temperatures, approximately 150 people participated in this event. Event organizers will once again be using only compostable cups for coffee and water and encouraging participants to bring their own refillable mugs or water bottle. Organizers and event volunteers will also be encouraging participants to make full use of our community’s ability to recycle and compost. Community Organized Litter Pick-ups . Community groups, individuals, or neighbourhoods can organize their own litter clean-up of a public space, parks and trails. Those who register with the City of Kitchener Volunteer Resources receive free clean up supplies and garbage collection. Clean-ups completed during the month of April will also receive Tim Hortons t-shirts, a Tim Hortons gift card and resources to help them run a safe event. This year, each participant will have the opportunity to be entered into a draw for a mountain bike also supplied by Tim Hortons. Last year approximately 52 community clean-ups were registered with City of Kitchener and over 900 community members participated. School Clean-ups – All elementary and secondary schools are invited to participate in the Spring School Clean-up. Schools who decide to participate register with the City of Kitchener Volunteer Resources who will provide supplies and support. This year all participating schools will have the chance to win a grant to fund environmentally friendly initiatives at their school. Last year, 43 schools participated, engaging approximately 10,000 students. Consulting Firm Challenge – Once again,environmental consulting firms in Kitchener will be invited to challenge each other in the Annual Earth Day Challenge. For this challenge, points are awarded to the consulting firms who have the highest percentage of employees participating in a litter pick-up, the most unusual piece of garbage, and the largest amount of garbage collected. A trophy is awarded to the firm with the highest overall number of points BLOOMIN’ EARTH FESTIVAL – City staff in Special Events are planning the 5th annual Bloomin’ Earth Eco-Fair at Kitchener City Hall, April 16th from 9am to 3pm. Participants can enjoy the vintage feeling of our outdoor market, filled with yesterdays treasures, thrifted clothing up-cycled into unique dresses and handbags as well as delightful candy smelling all natural body care wonders. In addition, there will be FREE recycled workshops, live entertainment and the REthreaded fashion show, a recycled clothing challenge. This is the FIFTH year for the market ... educating inspiring and entertaining families of all ages. Anyone interested can read more on the Bloomin’ Earth Festival’s blog at http://bloominearth.wordpress.com í ó î KITCHENER’S NATURAL AREA PROGRAM (KNAP) – Through KNAP, a range of environmental activities are organized which focus on engaging the community in environmental stewardship projects, increasing environmental literacy and awareness, and creating opportunities for people to discover and experience nature in the City. Throughout the year, the City of Kitchener partners with Trout Unlimited Canada to offer the Yellow Fish Road program. This program is delivered by community and school groups in different areas of the city and involves painting “yellow fish” symbols on storm drains and distributing educational materials about the impacts of pollution. th From 1 – 4 pm on Saturday April 16 the Friends of the Laurentian Wetland group and the City of Kitchener will be hosting a natural area clean-up and wetland celebration. This program will feature student presentations, guided hikes to the Laurentian Wetland and a wetland clean-up. Participants will meet at W.T. Townsend Public School (245 Activa Ave.) Once again, KNAP will also be holding their free public Earth Day event on Saturday rd April 23 from 1-4 pm at Huron Natural Area, 801 Trillium Drive. This family-oriented event will feature hands-on educational activities including live birds of prey demonstrations, tree planting, bird house building, kids’ crafts, music and entertainment as well as guided nature walks. In 2010, over 500 people participated in this event. The Cube- Through the last two weeks in March until the end of April, the digital Cube at City Hall will portray images of our planet and the vast resource that is our collective responsibility. Slides will encourage community members to participate in earth day events held across the City of Kitchener and to take action and make behaviour changes in their daily lives. For one-year trial period, the City of Kitchener is also participating in the Earth Day Canada 'EcoAction Teams' (EAT) program. The City of Kitchener will encourage Kitchener The 2011 City of Kitchener Earth Day Committee consisted of the following people: Brian Scott, Special Events Carrie Musselman, Senior Environmental Planner Jenn Grein, City of Kitchener Green Team Jennifer Zunic, Special Events Joshua Shea,Natural Area Coordinator Marla Pender, Youth Services Michelle Riediger, Corporate Communications Mohab El-Hakim, Community Representative, Environmental Advisory Committee Berry Vrbanovic, City Councillor & Vice-Chair of Environmental Advisory Committee Janice Ouellette, Volunteer Resources & Community Engagement FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Expenses will be paid out of an already existing budget allocated specifically for Earth Week Activities. Tim Hortons, the Litter Reduction Task Force, CHYM, NewsTalk 570, KIX106 and CTV have generously sponsored City of Kitchener’s Earth Day Activities. í ó í