With basketball over, April’s Earth Month shifts our focus to environment

Basketball is over … now what?

Wow, what a basketball season! I am still recovering from the game parties last weekend and staying up way too late on a work night to watch the final game. I am also recovering from my guilt in thinking that our team would not get nearly as far this year. But now that basketball season is over, how will we ever spend our spring?

This artistic rain barrel was painted by Franklin Independent High School art teacher Miles Johnson and his students. It is located in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort. (Photo from bgGreensource)

This artistic rain barrel was painted by Franklin Independent High School art teacher Miles Johnson and his students. It is located in the Capitol Annex in Frankfort.

Aside from Major League Baseball’s opening games (which if we are honest, who really watches baseball until much later in the season), April is known for Earth Day. April 22, 1970 was the first celebrated Earth Day (as well as the day my husband was born!) and, since then, environmentalists have expanded the day to Earth Week, and now many of us talk about Earth Month.

So now that your weekends have become more free, I thought that I would give you a list of the wonderful things happening in Central Kentucky to celebrate and give back to our Earth. The list starts this weekend and goes through April but if you are interested in celebrating Earth Day all year long, join Bluegrass Greensource’s e-newsletter or check out the calendar on the website at www.bgGreensource.org:

Reforest the Bluegrass is held Saturday, April 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Hisle Park between 3551 and 3655 Briar Hill Rd. in Lexington.

Since its beginnings, Reforest the Bluegrass has used citizen volunteers to plant over 100,000 trees along streams throughout Fayette County. The program is designed to recreate pre-settlement streamside forests that were once native to the inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. Through the efforts of thousands of volunteers, Lexington is progressively restoring the long lost benefits of streamside forests for generations to come. Register here.

Downtown Trash Bash is held Friday, April 18, from 12 to 4 p.m. in various locations downtown.

Come on out to the Downtown Trash Bash and make our downtown more beautiful while helping to protect water quality in the Town Branch.
Individuals and businesses are invited to join us any time between noon and 4 p.m. at one of five starting locations, where we will provide the tools you need to help remove litter from our cityscape.

Our check-in booths are located at:

• Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Main Street,
• Thoroughbred Park at Main Street,
• Duncan Park on North Limestone,
• Jefferson and Short Streets, and
• South Limestone at Avenue of Champions on the University of Kentucky campus.
Register here.

Main Street Clean Sweep is held Tuesday, April 22, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in various locations in Central Kentucky.

Bluegrass Greensource needs your help this Earth Day for our first annual Main Street Clean Sweep.  On April 22, employees from seven downtown communities throughout the Bluegrass will work during their lunch break to pick up litter and keep their Main Street clean.
Register here.

Rain Garden Workshop is held Friday, April 25, in Boyle County.

Join Bluegrass Greensource for class instruction on building your own rain garden, and on Saturday, April 26, for the garden install that will coincide with Boyle County Earth Day. Register by contacting the Boyle County Cooperative Extension Service at 859-236-4484.

Arbor Day at the Arboretum is held Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arboretum.

This year the Arboretum will host the 27th Annual Arbor Day event. Activities will include:

• More than 40 exhibitors
,
• Proclamation by the mayor,
• Presentation of Tree City USA Award,
• Tree planting ceremony with Kentucky Utilities representatives, Lexington dignitaries and Arboretum staff,
• Free admission to KU Day in the Kentucky Children’s Garden
, and
• Many children’s activities including a puppet show.

Registration is not necessary for this event, but more information can be found at here.

 

1 Amy-SohnerAmy Sohner is executive director of Greensource and a graduate of the University of Kentucky in Natural Resource Conservation and Management. Sohner has worked with Greensource since its inception in 2002 and is a Certified Environmental Educator. She is involved with the Kentucky Environmental Literacy Alliance, the Bluegrass Rain Garden Alliance, the Licking and Kentucky River Basin Teams, and serves as vice-chair of the Keep Lexington Beautiful Commission. Sohner lives near the Kentucky River palisades with her husband, two daughters and a multitude of pets.

This article appeared in KY Forward on April 10, 2014.

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