Earth Day sparks local Earth-friendly initiatives

Everywhere you look, people are talking about ways to harness Earth’s energy by using wind, hydro, solar and wave power — instead of fossil fuels — to create energy in our homes, offices and cars.

Today, people around the world will promote such ideas, and others, as a way to celebrate Earth Day.

Closer to home, a number of Earth-friendly events will take place in Culpeper, with some continuing into next month.

Here they are:

- Recycling: Pearl Sample Elementary School will be recycling aluminum cans and all paper items. Additionally, teachers have incorporated the recycling program into the math curriculum. After collecting the recyclable items, teachers weigh them and chart the results on a graph. Each grade level has a chart for how much paper they have collected each month. Then, the aluminum items are sold to Wise Services & Recycling. The school also has a recycling bin for newspapers.

- Demonstrations: Wise Services & Recycling of Culpeper plans to provide information and recycling demonstrations at its facility on Commerce Street.

- Skyline Drive repair: The Warrenton Rotarians have plans to repair part of the Appalachian Trail off Skyline Drive in recognition of Earth Day.

- Farmers Market: Wednesday’s Farmers Market is open today and every Wednesday throughout the season at the Market Place at Stover’s Greenhouse on Route 229. The hours are between 3 to 7 p.m. Items include locally grown fruit and vegetables, fresh eggs, poultry and beef products, baked goods, crafts, antiques and junk.

- Planting trees: Emerald Hill Elementary School kindergartners will be planting seeds; master gardeners will visit first-graders; second grade will plant a tree, and third-graders are holding a recycling fair.

- ‘Trout in the Classroom’: As part of Earth Day festivities, about 44 students, a handful of teachers and several parents will be releasing a native brook trout in Madison County on Friday. Emerald Hill is one of 65 state schools participating in the program “Trout in the Classroom” where students help raise a trout in a 55-gallon aquarium. The project, started in October, is coordinated by Trout Unlimited of Virginia and supported by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

- Environmental clubs: Eastern View and Culpeper County high schools have environmental clubs and will be doing Earth-friendly projects today.

- Green jobs: Germanna Community College will host a green jobs conference May 19 at the Daniel Technology Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The speakers will be Randy Flood, Green Jobs Alliance; John Esson, Green Careers Center; Bill and Trenton Hightower, Virginia Community College System; Hal Hart, Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates Architects; Andrew Grigsby, Commonwealth Sustainability Works; Associated General Contractors, Green Building Group; Doug Mose, Alternative Energy Solutions. The $20 admission covers all speakers and lunch. For more, call 937-2900.