Make Earth Day a car-free day in Jasper

by Kevin Gill
Wednesday April 20, 2005

http://www.jasperbooster.com/story.php?id=155455

Jasper Booster — The health and future of the environment is a huge concern for many people around the world, and each year Earth Day brings attention to the issue through countless celebrations and activities.
Earth Day falls annually on April 22 and is celebrated as the birth of the environmental movement. It’s a worldwide event that has grown so much that celebrations take place throughout the whole month of April, also known as Earth Month.
Here in Jasper one of the biggest initiatives related to Earth Day is the Municipal Commuter Challenge. On April 22, all Jasperites are encouraged to make it a car-free day in town. Instead of starting up your vehicle to get where you need to go, try hopping on a bike, walking or skateboarding. Less vehicles moving down the streets means a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
“It’s a really small community and it’s reasonable for us to ride our bikes or walk just about anywhere in town,” said Nicole Ward, environmental stewardship coordinator for the Municipality of Jasper. “It’s a small change in our lives that can make a big difference overall.”
Use the day to challenge the people you work with to leave their cars at home as well, or challenge yourself to make your car-free day an everyday lifestyle change.
The municipality also launched a special environmental initiative earlier this week that just happens to fit in nicely with the whole concept of Earth Day. The town’s Kitchen Organics Pilot Project got underway on April 18, with a total of 105 local households participating.
The families have been supplied with plastic composting containers to collect their kitchen organic materials. These residents will be responsible for weighing their material and taking it to the bear-proof containers located at the recycling drop-off sites.
The project is aimed at educating and promoting awareness of composting as a useful method of reducing household waste. The central goal is to investigate the feasibility of a residential kitchen organics collection program in Jasper.
Other local Earth Day activities
There are a few other ways that people in the Jasper area will be getting involved with Earth Day.
At the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, the annual Earth Day lunch will be held. It is an all organic lunch where people are provided with information on Earth Day to spread awareness about the event. Staff at the lodge are also being encouraged to participate in the Municipal Commuter Challenge.
In accordance with Earth Day, some of Jasper’s youngest residents will also be doing their part. Students at the Jasper Elementary School will be participating in an annual school clean-up event.