EARTH DAY IN ALAMEDA, CA

EARTH DAY IN ALAMEDA, CA

 

EARTH DAY IN ALAMEDA, CA  Alameda's Earth Day celebration was held at Washington Park.  The weather was beautiful, kids were having fun and the music was loud and good(I guess).  All in all, it was a wonderful day to celebrate the Earth and maybe think about a few things each of us might do to save it.  Happy Earth Day.

 

There were plenty of vendors present from groups concerned with conservation of our natural resources. 

Ploughshares, an environmentally sustainable retail nursery specializing in organically grown California natives, drought tolerant and edible plants.  They are located on the former Alameda Navy Base.  Not only does Ploughshares sell plants, but they sponsor classes in composting and present gardening workshops. They handed out baby California Live Oak plants.

 

 

East Bay Regional Park Rangers were on hand to tell folks about Crab Cove's environmental center and Robert Crown Memorial Beach, which stretches from Crab Cove to the end of Shoreline Drive.  Crab Cove Marine Protected Area was designated the first California estuarine marine reserve.  Its mud flat and rocky shore area are an important wildlife habitat.  Crown Beach and Crab Cove are wonderful resources for play, bird watching, marine life study and just plain fun in Alameda.

 

 

 

Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) featured a model of a geothermal power plant.  AMP is our local electric utility which uses many energy sources, such as Wind (7%), Geothermal(40%), Landfill Gas(17%), Solar(1%) and Natural Gas(2%) and more.  Their very tiny neon green electric car, which I call the "nose", was on display at the Park.

  

Alameda County Industries our local recycling company offered recycling tips and answered questions about recycling.

 

Alameda Association of Realtors, as part of their LIVE, LOVE, WORK ALAMEDA campaign, were present to provide information about recycled material and energy efficient products for those who may be planning to renovate their homes.

 

CityCarShare is a Bay Area nonprofit organization. "Their mission is to provide convenient, affordable access to cars in order to reduce individual car dependence and improve the environment and quality of life in our cities". Upon registering with CityCarShare an individual can check out a car for 20 minutes, 1 hour or longer.  Cars are located in several City parking lots in Alameda.

 

 

Also on hand were Rick Zombeck, Division Chief, Alameda Fire Department who provided information about the Fire Department program, Community Emergency Response Team(CERT) training classes being held throughout the year in Alameda. 

 

American Red Cross Bay Area youth volunteers showed kids what things should go in an emergency kit using cut outs to represent first aid kits, gallons of water, batteries, flashlights, radios, and other emergency equipment.  Making it a game is a good way to teach kids about emergency preparedness.

 

 

The Chevy Volt electric car was also on display.   It is a nice looking sedan for an electric car.