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REUSE:
Good for your planet
Good for your community

Reusing materials helps conserve our natural resources and keeps useable items out of our landfills. In the case of the ReStore and similar groups, your donation also helps fund the services they provide.

If you have an old couch or TV, don’t throw it out-REUSE it! Also, try to buy used when you can. You will save money, and you'll also be saving landfill space, and the energy and natural resources it would take to produce a new item.

Some REUSE organizations:
ReStore - New and used building materials. Donations and purchases support Habitat for Humanity building projects.
MAP, Inc. Free Furniture Bank - Provides free furniture to Columbus families.
Salvation Army and Goodwill - Clothing and furniture. Donations and purchases fund social and family services.
Amvets - Stores support services to Veterans and active military.
Craigslist.org - A free website where you can sell or give away your old stuff-or search for that perfect item for your home.

EARTH DAY

April 22, 2008 • 38th Year

Earth Day is a worldwide celebration of our natural resources -- and an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the conservation and wise use of those resources. The outgrowth of a student-led campus movement in 1970, Earth Day is now observed on April 22 every year.

Springtime is an exciting season in Ohio that reawakens a sense of appreciation for our natural world. Over the past 37 springtimes, Earth Day has become an important symbol of our commitment to learning about and caring for the environment.

We hope you will take Earth Day 2008 as an opportunity to do something that will help to preserve our natural world for many years to come.

Here are a few ideas:

  • Start recycling in your city. Contact your local waste management district to find out how.

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  • Replace your incandescent light bulbs with energy and money-saving, compact fluorescent bulbs-available at most hardware and home improvement stores.

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  • Bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store instead of using landfill clogging plastic bags.

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  • Take a walk in one of Ohio’s many State Parks, Forests or Nature Preserves.

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  • Don’t throw out your old couch or working TV-somebody can use them. Instead, donate them to local non-profit organization. (See box at right.)

  • Plant a tree. It's good for the environment and beautifies your yard.

Since that first Earth Day, we have become much better at conserving and reusing our precious natural resources.

Ohio's air and water are cleaner, our cities and countrysides are greener, more trees and flowers are being planted, and outdoor recreational opportunities are plentiful. Wildlife species that were almost invisible then are today abundant and thriving, such as white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and walleye. Other species have reached or are approaching modern-day records in populations, including the bald eagle, river otter, peregrine falcon, and osprey.

Earth Day celebrates these environmental achievements, but it is just one day out of the year. Protecting the environment and reducing the amount of natural resources we use is something everyone can do every day.

A number of communities in Ohio recently received Litter Cleanup Grants courtesy of the Division of Recycling & Litter Prevention. Fifty-two applications were approved totalling $115,885 (see the list here).

Local clean-up efforts must involve the work of volunteers and must take place in April and May. Applicants' financial needs were taken into consideration and no local match was required. Funding for the grant program comes from tipping fees generated by Construction & Demolition Debris landfills.

"Conservation in Ohio will take a giant leap forward when we recognize the extent to which we are connected to each other," said ODNR Director Sean D. Logan. "The lasting value of this clean-up program will be its role as a catalyst to local action, local connections, and a local commitment to conservation and a sustainable society."
UPCOMING CLEAN-UPS
Saturday, April 12 Eco-Management Day Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve Volunteers will be clearing poison sumac (with caution), as well as sprucing up the boardwalk and boat docks  
Tuesday, April 15 Volunteer Clean-Up Day Buckeye Lake State Park
9 a.m. - noon 		Help with clean-up and beautification projects around the lake. 740-467-2690
Saturday, April 19 Earth Day Dillon State Park Help clean up the park, go for a spring wildflower walk and learn primitive living skills (excellent project for scouts and other groups) 740-453-4377
Saturday, April 19 Beach Cleanup Headlands Dunes State Nature Preserve
10 a.m. - noon		   Adam Wohlever
440-632-3010
Saturday, April 19 Green-Up Day Caesar Creek State Park
9 a.m. - noon		   513-897-3055
Saturday, April 19 Keep America Beautiful Day West Branch State Park
9 a.m.		   330-296-3239
Saturday, April 19 Big Walnut Earth Day Celebration Sunbury Reservoirs
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.		   740-965-2684
Saturday, April 26 16th Annual River Sweep East Fork State Park
9 a.m. - noon		   513-734-4323
www.oeq.net
Saturday, April 26 Clean-Up Day Stonelick State Park
9 a.m.		   513-734-4323
Saturday, April 26 Volunteer Park Clean-Up Day Sycamore State Park
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.		   513-523-6347
Saturday, April 26 Earth Day Clean-Up Geneva State Park
9 a.m. at the Lodge		 Celebrate Earth Day by helping to clean up litter on the shoreline 440-466-8400
Saturday, April 26 Lake Clean-Up Day Grand Lake St. Marys
9 a.m. - noon		 Help clean up the lake and shoreline 419-394-3611
Saturday, April 26 Volunteer Park Clean-Up Day Sycamore State Park
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.		 Help keep the park litter free 513-523-6347
or 937-854-4452
Saturday, April 26 Spring Clean-Up Beaver Creek State Park
9 a.m. – noon at the Red Barn		 Help get the park ready for summer 330-385-3091
Monday, April 28 Earth Day Buck Creek State Park   937-322-5284
Saturday, May 10 Clean-Up Day Lake Milton State Park   330-654-4989