The City of Pacific is celebrating Earth Day 2011 with its fourth consecutive volunteer-powered Pacific Parks Pick-up Plus effort April 16.
Pacific’s Earth Day activities kick off at 10 a.m. and run until 12:30 p.m., culminating with a volunteer appreciation lunch at the Senior Center, 100 3rd Ave. SE, Building B.
Activities include trash pickup from city parks, trails and open spaces, with individual and team competitions determined by the amount of debris accumulated.
More adventuresome volunteers who want to eradicate invasive plants in public open spaces are asked to bring hand tools. Volunteers also can bring gardening hand tools for weeding.
There will be a kids coloring contest to design this year’s Earth Day mug. New this year are a park board-backed food bank drive and collection of used eyeglasses and hearing aids by the White River Valley Lions Club.
The event has gained support in recent years, growing from seven volunteers in 2007 to more than 40 workers who collected a record two tons of trash last year.
The Pacific Park Board, Pacific Partnerships, White River Valley Lions Club, City of Pacific, and Friends of the Lower White River (FLWR) are sponsoring the event.
Pacific Earth Day schedule
• 9:45 a.m. – Sign-in at the Pacific Algona Community Center, 100 3rd Ave. SE, Pacific
• 10 a.m. – Head out to City Park, city “pocket parks”, West Hill Passive Park, Interurban Trail, and to Pacific Meadows open spaces. Kids (age 12 and under) can enter the mug design art contest in the Senior Center. Also taking food bank, vision and hearing-aid donations until 1:30 p.m. Donations may be dropped off until closing. For details, visit doodle.com.
• 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Kids art contest (age 12 and under). The winning art contest design will be used on the 2011 Pacific Earth Day Mug, to be produced by a Pacific business. The first 30 volunteers to sign in will receive their mugs at Pacific Days.
• 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m. – Weigh-in trash at the Pacific Algona Community Center parking lot. Scale provided by Avery-Weightronix, manned by Joe LaBelle. Snacks and beverages will be available.
• Noon to 12:30 p.m. – “Trash toss” into the big Dumpster in the parking lot.
• 12:30 p.m. – Volunteer appreciation lunch and awards in the Senior Center, (provided by Pacific Partnerships and the Pacific Park Board). If you plan to eat lunch, please RSVP to Glenda White, Pacific Partnerships, at collectdetect@comcast.net. Kid’s art contest closes. Lunchers will vote on contest winners.
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Further information and updates can be found at: Pacific Post Office, Pacific City Hall, Algona-Pacific Library, www.cityofpacific.com, flwr.wetpaint.com or by e-mailing FLWR at pacificnaturalist@clearwire.net or calling 253-833-0977.
