Earth Day is not about tree huggers or tree sitters. It's about everyone who lives on planet Earth, and those who want to make it better.It's about planting, not politics. It's about cutting energy use, not cap and trade.
Frederick County will holdactivities to celebrate the warm days of spring as well as Earth Day. And while Earth Day is officially today, activities to celebrate will continue through April and into May.
Waterford Park in Frederick is an example of how a group of residents can turn a little public space into an eco-friendly place, in a most unlikely spot.
The little park sits on the west side of U.S. 15 off Baughman's Lane, within earshot of heavy traffic. Rock Creek flows through the park.
Ginny Brace started Waterford Park as a little nature preserve back in 2005, after the City of Frederick tore up a large section of the land that would become the park to place a new sewer line. Brace sought help from neighbors, other volunteers, the city and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The 18-acre park has woods and wetlands, and an army of volunteers that keep it going.
"We've had Girl Scouts, we have a boy working on his Eagle Scout project, we've had Volunteer Frederick people out," Brace said.
The Girl Scouts helped plant 100 trees, while the Eagle Scout project involves more tree planting. The Volunteer Frederick volunteers put in 300 trees.
The park has been there long enough that things are growing, and habitats are forming.
Brace said she learned a lot along the way. "What I found out was most of what was nice and green and pretty turned out to be invasive," she said. She learned what to keep and what to rip out from foresters and other environmental specialists.
Lessons about wetlands restoration, along with windmill and solar energy await visitors at Bar-T Mountainside Challenge and Retreat Center on Saturday, when the center will have an Earth Day Community Festival.
Heather Montgomery, community restoration coordinator for Frederick County, and volunteers from Volunteer Frederick organized an effort to put in a rain garden to control runoff. The rain garden was planted Saturday.
When rain runs off hard surfaces into local creeks and streams, it changes the temperature and character of the stream. Plants help soak up the rain and decrease the amount of rainwater, as well as pollutants and sediment from dirt, rushing into a stream.
Bar-T occupies an old farm in the Bennett Creek watershed. The staff planted wetlands, set up hiking trails and started an organic garden as part of its outdoor education program.
Catoctin Mountain Park in Thurmont will host 300 eighth-graders from Montgomery County today. They will pull invasive plants, work to control soil erosion, reclaim gravel on Manahan Road and prepare the Owens Creek Campground and Camp Misty Mount for summer openings.
Such activities do matter, according to Janice Wiles, executive director of Friends of Frederick County. The group promotes environmental conservation and has opposed sprawling growth.
The county is becoming more environmentally conscious, she said.
"If every single teacher said to their kids, 'How much carbon are you emitting today,' it would be an interesting lesson," she said. "Just making you aware can teach you a lot. Leaving the TV on, leaving cars running, using the car when you don't have to."
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