Call it Earth Season in Pittsburgh: Earth Day (April 22) is now the start of the official run-up to
World Environment Day (June 5).
Last year, Pittsburgh was the world host for WED, which included many water-focused activities. We even set a Guinness world record for paddlers together in one spot -- 1,619 kayaks and canoes at the Point – beating out 1,104 boats in Inlet, New York and a previous record by Cleveland (both of whom are reportedly trying to out-paddle us again this year).
For WED 2011, the organizers are urging groups to create their own environmental programs in the weeks before June 5, and add them to the calendar at the Pgh WED website. Already, the Pennsylvania Resources Council has set a Green Expo at the Mall at Robinson for April 23, and together the Frick Environmental Center and the Pittsburgh Zoo, getting a jump on things, are holding their own events during the week of April 16.
"While Pittsburgh is no longer in the spotlight as North America's host city for World Environment Day, we are not sitting back and resting on our laurels," says Ginette Walker Vinski, spokesperson for Sustainable Pittsburgh, one of the Pittsburgh WED partners. She says the group "is working to carry the momentum generated last year to continue efforts to educate and engage this region's residents on environmental issues affecting our region …"
Do Good:
• Support Pgh WED by buying a souvenir of last year's
record-setting flotilla, including t-shirts, stickers and photos.
• Check out the organizations already scheduling Pgh WED events:
Pennsylvania Resources Council,
Frick Environmental Center and the
Pittsburgh Zoo.
Writer:
Marty LevineSource: Ginette Walker Vinski, Sustainable Pittsburgh