Earth Day 2019

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A GUIDE TO LOCAL & S TAT E W I D E

EARTH WEEK EVENTS A

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B O Z E M A N

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EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Logan Landfill April 27, 2019 • 7:30AM TO 4:30PM

FREE Electronic Waste Recycling Event

What is Earth Day, and what is it meant to accomplish? .............................................03 MSU Events..................................................................04 Bozeman Events ..........................................................04 How you Can Help the Bees at Home .....................05 MSU recognized for commitment to protecting bees and other pollinators .......................................06 MSU researchers to share latest on bees at April 18 symposium ...............................................07 How You Can Help, According to EarthDay.org .......................................08 If You Can’t Make the City Cleanup, Start Your Own .......................................................... 09 Earth Day 2019: Protect Our Species .......................10

Accepted items for E-Waste drop off: computers, towers, laptops, monitors, printers, TV’s, stereo equipment (NO speakers), VCR’s, copiers, keyboards, mice, cell phones, handheld electronics and batteries.

Regular rates still apply for trash Gallatin County Residents and Businesses Only Questions: Please call 406-582-2493 or visit GallatinSolidWaste.org.

Household Hazardous Waste WILL NOT be accepted at this event. Please call 406-539-1161 for HHW questions.

Countdown to 2020, 50 years of Earth Day ............10 Choosing Sustainable Foods .................................... 11

EDITOR/ WRITER Rachel Hergett DESIGN Christine Dubbs

EARTH DAY 2019

What is Earth Day, and What is it Meant to Accomplish?

By Kathleen Rogers, Earth Day Network President

OnÂ

April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets to protest the negative impacts of 150 years of industrial development.

In the U.S. and around the world, smog was becoming deadly and evidence was growing that pollution led to developmental delays in children. Biodiversity was in decline as a result of the heavy use of pesticides and other pollutants.

The global ecological awareness was growing, and the US Congress and President Nixon responded quickly. In July of the same year, they created the Environmental Protection Agency, and robust environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among many.

Earth Day is now a global event each year, and we believe that more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world.

It is a day of political action and civic participation. People march, sign petitions, meet with their elected officials, plant trees, clean up their towns and roads. Corporations and governments use it to make pledges and announce sustainability measures. Faith leaders, including Pope Francis, connect Earth Day with protecting God’s greatest creations, humans, biodiversity and the planet that we all live on.

Sunday, April 21

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EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

MSU Events APRIL 15-18, 2019 CAMPUS COMMUTER CHALLENGE Join the Campus Commuter Challenge and log your bike, walk, bus and carpool commutes April 15-18. Team up with classmates or coworkers to compete against other MSU departments, labs, offices and student groups. There will be drawings for prizes all week.

THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 SUSTAINABILIBASH 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Centennial Mall, near Montana Hall Sustainabilibash is a celebration of sustainability and the people and organizations involved in the work of making this campus, community and world a more livable place. Sustainability Now’s fourth annual event will feature live music by Groove Tube and Wind and the Willows, free food, a free raffle and information from organizations working in the community.

POLLINATOR SYMPOSIUM IN NORM ASBJORNSON HALL 6-8 p.m.

This event will feature short research talks by MSU graduate students, pollinator films, and a Q&A session with local bee experts including Michelle Flennken, co-director of the Pollinator Center, and Casey Delphia, a native and wild bee expert.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2019 OUR EARTH INITIATIVE: MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 2019 CLIMATE CONFERENCE IN NORM ASBJORNSON HALL Join in the fight against climate change, learn from experts in the field, interact with undergraduate researchers and discover what you can do for your community. Topics include energy efficiency, the role of carbon dioxide in climate change and community efforts to address the problem. Check out https://msu-earthinitiative.com for more information and a full schedule.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 MOVE-OUT WEEK WASTE REDUCTION RECYCLING PROGRAM 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

A group of undergrad students, along with Office of Sustainability, is working to reduce waste during move-out week. They will collect larger residence hall items (microwaves, mini-fridges, futons, etc.) to recycle near the end of finals week.

Bozeman Events SATURDAY, APRIL 20 BOZEMAN CLEANUP DAY 8 a.m.-noon Bozeman Public Library.

The Bozeman Beautification Advisory Board welcomes individuals and groups to spend the morning with them cleaning up Bozeman after a long winter. Breakfast and coffee provided, but bring your own mug. Gloves, vests and bags will also be provided. Pre-registration is requested at www.bozeman.net/ cleanup.

EARTH DAY FESTIVAL 2019: COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS FOR A HEALTHY PLANET. SATURDAY, 1-4 p.m.

Bozeman Public Library.

Learn how you can create a healthy planet. Exhibits include MSU’s solar car and the Bozone Ozone bus. Presentations every half hour include strategies for living with zero-waste and birdfriendly home and garden tips. A family oriented stage show with local musician Anya Tyson performing songs about nature is at 3 p.m. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ events/407568073123468/

SATURDAY, APRIL 27 GALLATIN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT DISTRICT FREE E-WASTE DROP-OFF 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Logan Landfill, 10585 Two Dog Rd. Electronic Waste, or e-waste, refers to obsolete electronic devices that have reached their end-of-life. Electronic devices contain a significant amount of circuitry in relation to their other structural materials as plastics or base metals. The circuitry in electronic waste contains precious metals such as gold, silver, palladium, and copper that can be recovered through the recycling process.

EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

How you Can Help the Bees at Home W

ith worldwide bee populations in decline, many people have turned to their own patch of land to help the various species.

“It does make a difference what you choose (to plant),” said Josh Pecukonis, co-owner of the Garden Barn in Gallatin Gateway.

Bees, he said, have the ability to see ultraviolet light. Flowers that may seem bright and attractive to us may look different to a bee.

Others, like the black-eyed Susan, are more attractive. In UV light, the flower has a “purple, ring-like landing zone,” Pecukonis said.

Other pretty plants are actually bred to be disadvantageous for pollinators, like bees, birds and butterflies. Plants meant for cut boquets are often modified to produce less pollen so as not to soil countertops under their vase. Others now have double petals or cones, making the bloom fuller but cutting off access to food sources.

All your recycling and waste needs, handled by one provider.

Republic Services is here to help make recycling accessible and convenient with:

“It’s not always about picking what is pretty,” he said.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO? • “Diversity is the main thing,” Pecukonis said. “The more you plant, the more it helps them.” Think about filling your yard with plants of different types that flower at different times. Bees are emerging from their winter homes this time of year, so consider trees like the red maple, which flowers early in the spring providing a food source.

- All-in-One curbside recycling No sorting required Ask us about our bundled rates

• Do not cut back plants until fairly late in the spring. Most native species are solitary and live outside of hives, creating burrows or homes in fallen leaves or branches. “You can throw away your bees,” Pecukonis cautioned. “Wait as late as you can tolerate it.”

• Consider bee houses or creating other bee habitats for solitary bees. “The bee house should be placed in a spot in the garden that doesn’t get too much wind, receives morning sunlight and has a source of water for the bees,” according to thehoneybeeconservancy.org.

Call us at (406) 586-0606 To get started

• Native plants, especially, will help native insects like bees.

“Because they co-evolved at the same time, they’re really favorable to each other,” Pecukonis said.

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EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

MSU Recognized for Commitment to Protecting Bees & Other Pollinators

By Marshall Swearingen, MSU News Service

In

an effort to support healthy populations of bees and other pollinators, Montana State University has joined a nationwide initiative certifying the university’s pollinator-friendly practices and programs.

“Becoming a Bee Campus builds upon, and unifies, ongoing research and outreach efforts aimed at promoting pollinator health at MSU and supports student and community member involvement,” said Michelle Flenniken, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology in MSU’s College of Agriculture.

In November, MSU was designated a Bee Campus USA by the international nonprofit Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, becoming the first Montana campus to qualify and enroll. The program includes 58 other campuses nationwide.

Flenniken, who co-directs MSU’s Pollinator Health Center with Laura Burkle, assistant professor of ecology, led the development of the Honey Bee Research Site and Pollinator Garden at MSU’s Horticulture Farm in 2015. The half-acre garden includes native plants that bloom throughout the spring and summer to provide a steady supply of the pollen and nectar that pollinators need.

“This recognizes some incredible work on campus that many people might not be aware of,” said Mathew Bain, program coordinator in MSU’s Office of Sustainability.

Bee Campuses are required to have pollinator-friendly habitat that includes native plants, engage in outreach programs and teach courses related to pollinators, among other things.

“One of the factors that contributes to bee deaths is lack of suitable forage,” said Flenniken, whose research focuses on pathogens such as viruses that are another contributing factor to the high annual losses of honey bee colonies in the U.S. Even small areas of blooming plants can make a significant difference for pollinator health, she said.

Flenniken and Bain are members of an MSU committee that is tasked with developing a pollinator habitat plan for campus, which is required by the Bee Campus program.

Native plants along the west side of Leon Johnson Hall are an example of what could be done in other areas of campus, said MSU facilities director EJ Hook, another member of the pollinator habitat committee.

“The Bee Campus designation recognizes the steps we’ve been taking and pushes us to go even further,” Hook said. In addition to maintaining flowering plants, MSU manages weeds and insect pests with the minimum of herbicides and pesticides, he added. That means tolerating dandelions in some areas because the blossoms are an important early-season forage for bees and other pollinators, he said. As a result of the Bee Campus designation, MSU Facilities Services will increase communication to explain those landscape management decisions, for instance with signs to point out areas of native plants.

EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

MSU researchers to share latest on bees

at April 18 symposium M MSU’s pollinator education and outreach offerings currently include nine undergraduate courses, several outreach activities for local youth and the Pollinator Symposium, where MSU graduate students and faculty present their research on honey bees, bumble bees and other pollinating insects in an open, public forum.

Flenniken, who has organized the symposium since it began in 2017, said the Bee Campus designation could inspire additional course offerings and other opportunities for MSU students, particularly undergraduates, to learn about bees and the important role they play in pollinating numerous important plant species — including fruit, nut and vegetable crops — in addition to producing honey.

Bain, who earned his bachelor’s in environmental science at MSU last year, initiated the effort to designate MSU after visiting another certified bee campus last spring.

“This will make campus even more of a living laboratory where we can learn about best practices,” he said.

ontana State University researchers will share their latest bee science at an evening symposium that will include short films and a question and answer session with an expert panel.

The annual Pollinator Symposium will take place at Inspiration Hall in MSU’s new Norm Asbjornson Hall on Thursday, April 18, starting at 6 p.m. The event runs until 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

“This symposium is about sharing our ongoing research within the big picture of improving bee health,” said Michelle Flenniken, co-director of MSU’s Pollinator Health Center and assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology in MSU’s College of Agriculture. The event is intended for anyone who is interested in bees and other pollinators, including students and community members, she said.

According to Flenniken, pollinator health is important because more than 70% of all flowering plants rely on animal pollinators, such as bees, to reproduce. Many of those plants

are fruits, nuts and vegetables. For example, roughly 1.6 million honey bee colonies, each with about 35,000 bees, are required annually to pollinate the California almond crop. The majority of those colonies are trucked to California from around the U.S.; Montana typically contributes more than 100,000 of those colonies.

The symposium will include presentations on honey bees by Flenniken and two doctoral students in her lab, Fenali Parekh and Alex McMenamin.

Zoe Pritchard, a master’s student in associate professor Michael Ivie’s lab, and Will Glenny, a doctoral student in associate professor Laura Burkle’s lab, will present research on wild bees. The symposium will end with a question and answer session with the presenters as well as other MSU faculty and the owner of the local Montana Honey Bee Company.

The three films to be shown are a brief video overview of MSU pollinator research, a National Geographic short film about an unconventional scientist who documents and photographs native bees, and a 12-minute film called “Pollinators Under Pressure.”

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EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

How You Can Help, According to EarthDay.org

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ere are simple and easy tips to help you go green, protect the earth, save money and make every day Earth Day. You can make a difference!

1. Plant a tree.

2. Join a local park, river or beach clean-up.

3. Use environmentally-friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.

4. Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient CFLs or LEDs. Reduce your carbon footprint by 450 pounds a year.

5. Carpool, ride your bike, use public transportation or drive an electric or hybrid car. Reduce your carbon footprint by one pound for every mile you do not drive.

6. Keep your tires properly inflated and get better gas mileage. Reduce your carbon footprint 20 pounds for each gallon of gas saved.

7. Change your car’s air filter regularly.

8. Teleconference instead of traveling. If you fly five times per year, those trips are likely to account for 75% of your personal carbon footprint.

21. Pack your lunch in a reusable bag.

22. Organize to have healthy, locally-sourced food served at in your school district.

23. Buy local food to reduce the distance from farm to fork. Buy straight from the farm, frequent your local farmers’ market, or join a local food co-op.

24. Buy organic food to keep your body and the environment free of toxic pesticides. Support farmers and companies who use organic ingredients.

25. Grow your own organic garden, or join a farm-share group.

26. Reduce your meat consumption to curb carbon emissions from the livestock industry.

27. Compost kitchen scraps for use in your garden — turning waste into fertilizer.

28. Take a shorter shower and use a water-saving shower head.

29. Fix leaky faucets and shower-heads.

30. Run your dishwasher only when it’s full to save water and energy.

9. Stop using disposable plastics, especially single-use plastics like bottles, bags and straws.

31. Conserve water outdoors by only watering your lawn in the early morning or late at night. Use drought-resistant plants in dry areas.

10. Recycle paper, plastic and glass. Reduce your garbage by 10% and your carbon footprint by 1,200 pounds a year.

32. Wash your clothes only when necessary, use cold water and line dry.

11. Donate your old clothes and home goods instead of throwing them out.

When you need something, consider buying used items.

12. Use cloth towels instead of paper ones.

13. Change your paper bills to online billing. You’ll be saving trees and the fuel it takes to deliver your bills by truck.

14. Read documents online instead of printing them.

33. Form a “green team” at your office to find cost-effective ways to conserve resources and promote sustainability.

34. Volunteer for a local environmental group and/or make a donation.

35. Pull out invasive plants in your yard or garden and replace them with native ones.

36. Turn off and unplug electronics you’re not using. This includes turning off your computer at night.

15. When you need to use paper, make sure it’s 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

37. Turn off lights when you leave a room.

16. Set your office printer to print two-sided.

39. Take the stairs instead of the elevator to save energy (and get exercise!).

17. Collect used printer, fax, and copier cartridges to recycle.

40. Move your heater thermostat down two degrees in winter and up two degrees in the summer to reduce your carbon footprint by 2,000 pounds.

18. Convince your school district or office building to choose reusable utensils, trays, and dishes in the cafeteria.

38. Install solar panels on your roof.

41. Lower the temperature on your water heater.

19. Use reusable bottles for water, and reusable mugs for coffee.

42. Contact your utility company and find out about renewable energy options.

20. Bring reusable bags when you shop.

43. Use energy-efficient appliances and electronics.

EARTH DAY 2019

Sunday, April 21

If You Can’t Make

the City Cleanup,

Start Your Own From the City of Bozeman Solid Waste Division

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leanup Bozeman is a program offering schools, workplaces, scout troops, neighborhoods, and other groups and individuals a chance to get outside, work together and clean up our community in the process.

With materials, gear, and instructions provided by the City of Bozeman, almost any group can easily host a free Cleanup Bozeman event that makes a big difference.

Happy Trash Can Curbside Composting Diverting Gallatin Valley food waste since 2016 • We take food waste and turn it into compost for local healthy soil.

• Weekly curbside food waste pickups www.happytrashcan.net for $15/month.

406-570-0896 • Residential, Commercial & info@happytrashcan.net Event Service

Closing the table to farm loop one bucket at a time.

Just pick your ideal date and location to de-litter, and we’ll make sure your team has everything you need—from bags, vests and gloves to bag pickup afterwards.

Call the City of Bozeman Solid Waste Division at 406-582-3203 to sign up today.

FAQs WHEN SHOULD I HOST MY EVENT? You can pick any day of the year, or even a whole week if needed.

The best events are planned several weeks in advance. If you’d like to do a quick and dirty event, please give us at least a few days to get your Cleanup Bozeman kit assembled.

WHERE CAN WE PICK UP? As long as it’s within Bozeman city limits, choose any neighborhood, trail, park, school, street or other public space you’d like to pick up. If your location has already been chosen for a date near yours, we’ll have ideas of other places that could use help.

WHAT IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Give us a call at 406-582-3203! We’re happy to pitch in with tips and ideas like the best location, time frame or almost anything else.

onsiteenergyinc.com (406) 551-6135

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Sunday, April 21

Earth Day 2019: PROTECT OUR SPECIES From earthday.org

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ature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, human beings have irrevocably upset the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction since we lost the dinosaurs more than 60 million years ago. But unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity. This is why Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, has chosen as the theme for 2019 to Support our Species.

The unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to causes driven by human activity:

climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides to name a few. The impacts are far reaching.

All living things have an intrinsic value, and each plays a unique role in the complex web of life. We must work together to protect endangered and threatened species: bees, coral reefs, elephants, giraffes, insects, whales and more.

The good news is that the rate of extinctions can still be slowed, and many of our declining, threatened and endangered species can still recover if we work together now to build a united global movement of consumers, voters, educators, faith leaders, and scientists to demand immediate action.

Countdown to 2020, 50 years of Earth Day

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pril 22, 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. In recognition of this milestone Earth Day Network, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the U.S. Department of State are launching Earth Challenge 2020 as the world’s largest coordinated citizen science campaign.

and collect more than one billion data points in areas including air quality, water quality, biodiversity, pollution, and human health. Through Earth Challenge 2020, citizen science volunteers will learn about their local conditions, and leverage information to inspire collaborative action and influence policy decisions.

Earth Challenge 2020 will engage millions of global citizens to aggregate

For more information, visit www.earthday.org/campaigns/earthchallenge2020/.

EARTH DAY 2019

Choosing Sustainable Foods

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ometimes, taking small steps can make a big difference.

Uma Graham founded the Montana State University student organization Thrive On Plants, which advocates for plant-based diets in the community.

“One of the main negative impacts on our environment actually comes from our food choices,” Graham said, citing greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and dead zones in the oceans. “Just by choosing more plant foods, we’re actually able to mitigate the environmental impacts.”

Graham knows not everyone can afford to switch to an electric car or place solar panels on their home, but we all choose what we eat on a daily basis.

“It’s something that everyone can take part in and actually has an impact,” she said.

Thrive on Plants has been working with local grocery stories, such as Town & Country Foods, to bring alternatives like California-based Impossible Foods Impossible Burger to local plates. The burger is a veggie burger, but uses an ingredient engineered from soybeans to give it a beefy red color. The burger is available at T&C, as well as restaurants Plonk and Sidewinders, according to Graham. T&C also carries the Beyond Burger and Beyond Sausage, two other plantbased substitutes.

Each initiative is about seeing plant-based foods as a viable choice for each meal. According to an analysis by Beyond Meat and the University of Michigan, the average American eats three burgers each week. Swapping one of them for a plant-based alternative would have the same impact as taking 12 million cars off the road and saving enough energy to power 2.3 million homes.

The study concluded “The Beyond Burger uses 99 percent less water, 93 percent less land, generates 90 percent fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and requires 46 percent less energy than a beef burger.”

A variety of plant-based foods will be available to sample from MSU’s Fork in the Road food truck during the Sustainabilibash event on the Centennial Mall on Tuesday, April 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, April 21

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WATER SMART BOZEMAN.

WATER CONSERVATION has been identified as the single

Did you know

THE CITY OF BOZEMAN IS PRONE TO DROUGHT and could be facing a water shortage in the next 20 years?

LARGEST SOURCE OF WATER for Bozeman’s future.

The City of Bozeman conserves water by using high efficiency faucet aerators in our bathrooms.

INSTALL HIGH EFFICIENCY FAUCET AERATORS IN YOUR HOME and save up to 500 gallons of water per year.

Stop by the City’s Engineering Office to pick up your FREE faucet aerators.* *Must be a City of Bozeman resident. City of Bozeman Engineering is located at 20 E. Olive St.

MAYOR ANDRUS IS PLEDGING TO SAVE WATER

bby beautifying eautif her yard with clim e appropriate plants.

Join Mayor Andrus.

Make a difference in our community and sign up to win prizes.

Make your pledge this April a w ww.mywaterpledge.com.

DOING ONE THING MAKES M A DIFFERENCE. FIND OUT MORE AT BOZEMANWATER.COM