Celebrate on April 22, and beyond

Earth Day is a yearly holiday celebrated by many around the world. Most would agree that Earth Day—held on April 22 this year—shouldn’t just be an annual celebration; it should be a common practice every day to appreciate the world we live in and the Earth we walk on. Amongst other die-hards, Fossil Ridge’s FRESH club is hard at work making this year’s Earth Week a memorable one.

This year, FRESH club is holding events very similar to last year’s: a bike ride and breakfast, compost day, and movie night. Both freshman FRESH club and FRESH club have been hard at work coming up with events for each day of Earth Week. The FRHS events, starting Monday, include:

• Compost Day – Monday
• Spirit Day (wear blue and green) and chalk art with Art Club – Tuesday or… EARTH DAY!
• Disney’s Nature movie screening – Wednesday evening in the Round House
• Hydration Station raffle ticket for a free water bottle – Thursday
• Advisory lesson (for freshmen) – Friday
• Campus Cleanup Day – Saturday
• Bike n’ Breakfast (Gibs n’ Bagels, juice and fruit) – Wednesday, April 30

“Since last year’s events were so successful and really incorporated what FRESH club is about and what they do in our school we have decided to carry over a lot of last year’s events,” senior Sonya Maple said.

Maple said that if there was anything she could have our entire school do on Earth Day it would be to have 100 percent perfect composting for the entire day.

As one of the co-presidents of FRESH club, Maple had a few comments about Earth Day and what it means to her. “To me, it’s an appreciation that otherwise wouldn’t happen. It’s an excuse to have events that wouldn’t occur and to hopefully spur events for the rest of the year,” she said.

The FRESH club goal? Emphasizing that Earth Day and sustainability are a big deal and that there’s a lot to sustainability; more than what can be crammed into one day and that it should be at least one week long. Maple is planning on being a part of as many events as possible both inside FRHS and out in the community. “I will be biking to school for the week and helping the club obtain its goals,” she said.

Other events going on this week include:

• Earth Day fair at Civic Center Park – Saturday, April 19
• Ignite Presentations at Avogadro’s – Tuesday, April 22
• CSU Sustainability Center (screening of Gas Land 2) – Tuesday, April 22
• Food Co-Op – Sunday, April 27

What means the most to environmental activists on Earth Day is having people acknowledge the importance of giving back and encouraging sustainability. Not only do they encourage this occurring one day or even a week; but to create the mindset to make practicing sustainability a habit. “Fort Collins is awesome about encouraging sustainability and celebrating Earth Day with a bunch of activities and the fair has many booths from local businesses,” Maple said.