Day 78: Earth Day Volunteering

2026-04-25

Hello! Let's address the elephant in the room: yes, this article has been published very late. It is less likely to happen in the future now that I've made some changes. Just pretend it's Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day! A few days ago, I volunteered for two environment-related events: an Arbor Day at a local park, where we showed kids a map of the park and encouraged a scavenger hunt for stamps and stickers, and an Earth Day party near Main Street of the town, with food, activities, and disco dancing.

The Earth Day party lasted four hours, and all kinds of groups came down to host booths and take part in events. Political advocacy groups, schools, a club from the university nearby, and local businesses (serving as food vendors).

Also: therapy bunnies. So cute. Probably not the best decision to bring them in, considering that kids swarmed around them and frightened the bunnies half to death with their erratic movements, loud screams, and pulling. They probably needed therapy of their own after that — which would make a hell of a satire story, now that I think of it. Animal lovers and creative writers, go for it. Send me a link, would you?

Earth Day doesn't seem to take up the mainstream news in the current day, but it was a big deal in my elementary school, and especially in my third grade. I still have the tree slowly growing in my backyard that I planted all those years ago.

Elementary school teachers had us realize the individual consequences of our human impact on the environment. While the idea of a carbon footprint is merely propaganda from oil company BP, individual improvements can be a worthwhile change. So they had us do an experiment.

I did this experiment a few times because I couldn't believe the results. Take a big bowl (whether it be a plastic wash basin or whatever) and put it in your sink, under the faucet, blocking the drain pipe. Then, open the faucet just the tiniest amount — about the same as a plain ol' leak. Now leave the leak overnight and let the drops slowly accumulate in the bowl.

Come back when you wake up tomorrow.

... Cool, good morning. How much water was wasted from a simple leak? Depending on how big your collection bowl was, it might be overflowing. This is a long and winded way of saying that "small things add up", but it was a real eye-opener for me to actually visualize that. One night, one leak. Enough water to drink for a day or two.

Seal up those leaks, and you can conserve a sizable amount. Water leaks tend to be the more harmless type of home leaks anyway — you might want to get your gas pipes checked.

Finally, a reminder. I've talked my short piece on ethical wildlife photography more than two months ago. I feel that it's about time for a repeat of that reminder, especially now that I'm preparing for a trip in the wild. This article on landscape photography ends with a paragraph on the environment, and your impact as a photographer. Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints, and disturb nothing but the air.

Oh, and a note that I'm sure will age poorly in the near future: I'm planting several flowers in my small backyard garden, and I have no idea what I'm doing. Tulips have died from cold shock and squirrel digging or biting. The whole area is covered in leaves and weeds, and I'm waiting for a dry day to wipe away the gunk. Flowers planted a week or two ago haven't sprouted yet, but I think that's me being impatient. I just hope they're doing alright.

Cheers,
David