[Baltimore Sun] Earth Day 2024: 6 ways the Baltimore area is celebrating the planet
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Monday, April 22, is Earth Day, the 24 hours set aside for promoting the preservation of the planet that is home to more than 8 billion humans and countless other organisms.
This year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics, focusing on the threat that plastics pose to the environment, with a call to end all single-use plastic and find replacements for their uses, including a goal of reducing plastic production 60% by 2040.
Here’s a look at some of the ways that the Baltimore area is marking the 54th anniversary of Earth Day.
Unveiling a new bus with an Earth Day theme
In addition to offering free rides all day on public transportation, the Maryland Transit Administration will also unveil a specially designed bus featuring Earth Day art from the winners of a youth art competition for Maryland students. The agency will reveal the winning designs Monday morning at the Parks & People Foundation in Baltimore.
Celebrating 10 years of Mr. Trash Wheel
The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s Healthy Harbor initiative’s water- and solar-powered trash collectors have earned international acclaim for their ingenuity — and personality.
Mr. Trash Wheel, the oldest of the family of Baltimore trash wheels, celebrated his birthday over the weekend with a big trash bash. The debris-gobbling water wheel with the googly eyes was installed in the Inner Harbor in 2014. Since then, more than 2,300 tons of trash have been diverted from Baltimore’s waterways by Mr. Trash Wheel and his trashy relatives. There’s even a new coffee blend from Zeke’s Coffee — dark and light roast combined with hints of fruit and nuts — to mark the occasion.
Cleaning up in Lafayette Square
The Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank staff are volunteering in a neighborhood cleanup effort in Sandtown-Winchester. About 50 people are expected to join in picking up trash, gardening, weeding, tree-planting, mosaic-making and more in the Lafayette Square community.
Installing solar panels in parking lots
The University of Maryland Medical System will install solar energy parking lot canopies at three of its corporate locations, including two in Linthicum. The project “is expected to generate 27,000,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy and generate more than $12 million in savings in electricity and parking lot maintenance costs over a period of 10 years,” UMMS said in a news release Friday. The solar canopy project will begin this fall with energy production expected by mid-2026.
Planting vegetables at a working farm
Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun
Students and staff with the Civic Works Baltimore Conservation Leadership Corps lay down a bed of wood chips while constructing a handicap accessible path at the Real Food Farm at Clifton Park.
Take in an outdoor happy hour with drinks and snacks at Civic Works Real Food Farm in Lake Clifton, which aims to address food deserts in the city. Visitors will be able to tour the farm, meet growers and plant vegetables. Tickets are required, but admission is free. Since its inception, Real Food Farm has grown over 60,000 pounds of food, according to the organization.
Signing up for free trees
Baltimore County residents can sign up for a free tree or two, courtesy of the Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability in celebration of another earth-friendly holiday: Arbor Day, which is Friday. About 1,200 trees are available to those who sign up in advance, while supplies last. Redbud, red maple, scarlet oak, black gum and sycamore are among the varieties being offered for pickup this weekend at the paring lot of the Benjamin Banneker Museum and Park in Catonsville.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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