Lights Out

The global initiative sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, Earth Hour, encourages everyone to turn off their lights on Saturday, March 27 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Light some candles and tune into your family while contemplating what little steps can be taken to reduce your household energy consumption.

Simple habits to adopt which reduce climate change can include turning off the lights in rooms when not in use, turning off water while brushing teeth, replacing energy hogging old appliances, turning down the thermostat, eliminating energy vampires by plugging appliances and electronics into power strips, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), recycling, composting, and carpooling. Buying locally grown and produced foods can also help reduce the amount of fuel needed to ship food from faraway growing areas such as South America. Every little effort counts.

While turning off your home's lights for a mere hour may seem minor, consider last year's event which involved hundreds of millions of participants worldwide. Four-thousand cities in 87 countries turned off their lights in 2009 and saved millions of dollars in energy bills while raising awareness. Vote with your light switch, join this year's Earth Hour. For more information visit www.myearthhour.org.

Arbor Day Dedication

A welcomed respite in the winter weather made a perfect day for a tree dedication. On cue, the sun shone warmly on the arboretum for Keep Smyrna Beautiful’s (KSB) annual Arbor Day Celebration. Ann Kirk, KSB Executive Director, and Pete Wood, Smyrna City Councilman, greeted families who gathered at the gazebo on the hill to honor loved ones with a tree dedication ceremony. In total, three native Georgia trees were hand selected for inclusion into the multi-acre area reserved behind the Smyrna Community Center.

A Swamp Chestnut Oak was dedicated to Gary Wehner for his work in founding and nurturing the arboretum over ten years ago. A Southern Sugar Maple and Buttonbush shrub, named for the tiny white button-shaped flowers that bloom in spring, were also dedicated to longtime Smyrna residents. Since the city’s first Arbor Day celebration in 1990, hundreds of trees and shrubs have been planted. The arboretum is almost full. The city’s long term goal to increase the tree canopy will ensure future dedications planned in other city areas.

Traditionally celebrated nationwide on the last Friday in April, Arbor Day in Georgia coincides with the best time to plant trees in the state. Visit the Arbor Day's website for more information and tree planting instructions.

An Education In Smart Reuse

Over a hundred dedicated teachers form a line outside the Cobb County School System warehouse on a chilly winter morning. Inside the cavernous stockroom a few dozen volunteers prepare donated materials for the Teachers Supply Store quarterly open house.

School budgets are getting tighter than normal. Teachers get creative and purchase supplemental teaching supplies with their own salaries. Local companies and manufacturers have overstock, outdated products and byproducts that don't belong in the landfill. The nonprofit organization provides a helpful solution to repurpose useful items, transforming them into free educational materials.

Items such as carpet samples, fabric swatches, rolls of colored paper, twine, containers, buckets, cardboard storage boxes, Styrofoam, bubble wrap, MDF (medium-density fiber board), spools, specimen cups, and wooden blocks are used for science or art projects or classroom displays. Local companies also donate bulk quantities of paper, books, binders, posters, plastic storage bins, ink toner cartridges, envelopes, folders, and furniture.

Educators show proof of employment (school I.D., paycheck, or letter from an administrator) to enter the open house. Home school teachers are also permitted with a letter of intent. Teachers come from nearby counties and can take whatever they can carry out. First timers bring tote bags or boxes while seasoned open-housers graduate to push carts, rolling extra large suitcases, or brand new trash cans on wheels.

Already overflowing landfills get a break. Companies find a better use for unwanted items. Teachers’ pocketbooks are spared while accessing helpful education materials. Students benefit by stretching their creative imagination.

Visit the Teachers Supply Store for more information, to donate items, and the date of the next quarterly open house.