Environmental Communications

(Updated in 2026)
One of my favorite days to celebrate! Here’s a little history: “The very first Earth Day, April 22nd, 1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.”

I started Earth Week by giving a somewhat informal recycling presentation to my colleagues at work. It was great fun to share my knowledge, answer questions, and a really good reminder that recycling can be confusing. Living in the Portland Metro area, most people REALLY want to recycle, so they throw items into the recycle bin that shouldn’t go in there.
(I know, I was one of them.)  
But…When IN DOUBT…THROW IT OUT!

Do you live in the Metro area and are interested in recycling and waste management? Check out the Master Recyclers Program.  Part of graduating class 54, I was shocked at how much I learned since I was already so eco-minded. It’s a fabulous experience-you will learn a great deal and be with a room full of like-minded awesome individuals. I can’t recommend it enough!

GIVING BACK

My family started a tradition several years ago to volunteer for SOLVEIT  – one of SOLVE’s big volunteer days. Last Saturday, we went to the Wilkes Creek Headwaters (154th and NE Fremont in Portland) to discover a new area, enjoy the beautiful weather and clear invasive English Ivy from the restoration site.

SOLVE partnered with the Columbia Slough Watershed Council (yes, one of my favorite non-profits I volunteered with a few years ago), Portland City Parks, an employee group from Boeing (yes, there is one in Portland too, with 1,700 employees), and Portland Geocaching Group. So it was a fantastic eclectic crew and a wonderful turnout.

A small group planted native species and mulched a designated area, while the rest of us pulled English Ivy. It was a gentle procedure because we didn’t want to disturb the native plants, many of which are blooming and growing this time of year.

 -Trillium-

Wilkes Creek Headwaters contains the springs that feed the only free-flowing stream in the city that still enters the Columbia Slough.
The City of Portland and Metro acquired the site in 2011.

Portland Parks uses some herbicides to clear unwanted plant life, but since this site was full of Native Indian Plum trees, they wanted to use manual volunteer labor. Indian Plum, apparently, is very sensitive to any kind of herbicides. Glad we could all help!

 -The Family-

RESULTS

Over 8,500 volunteers came out on Saturday for SOLVEIT events all across Oregon! SOLVE estimates that this year, over 25 tons of trash and debris were collected from 162 sites, including neighborhoods, parks, school grounds and natural areas around the state. Invasive non-native plants were cleared from 11 acres, and 3,000 native trees and shrubs were planted.

Happy Earth Day Around the World! Get outside, enjoy some natural beauty, breathe fresh air, walk barefoot, soak in the sun or rain and feel gratitude for all the beautiful gifts we receive from this planet.