WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Employees at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division celebrated Earth Day during the command's annual base-wide event at West Bethesda, Maryland, April 20.
Carderock's Environmental Branch hosted the event, an early observance of the 48th Earth Day on April 22, and organized an environmental information fair, a food truck picnic and a tree planting to spread awareness of the holiday and of environmental consciousness.
"Some people aren't even aware there's an Earth Day, and some people are aware, but they forget," said Joe Barger, Carderock's Environmental Branch Head. "We have this event every year for all hands for that reason and we hold it outdoors so people can get together to enjoy the warm weather and some food, then they come to our booth and we inform them about the many things we do for the environment as a command."
Earth Day was founded by Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin in response to a 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, to attempt to bring environmental protection into the national political agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated for a healthy, sustainable environment in rallies throughout the country on the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, which went global in 1990 and has led to many national and international rallies and service projects in the years since. Barger said Carderock's observance is intended to remind people that everything they do has an environmental impact and to get them to think about the effect of what they do at work and at home.
"If we're not environmentally friendly here, chances are we're not going to be environmentally friendly at home," Barger said. "That affects our family and our friends, whether we realize it or not. If we don't care about the environment, sustainability and future generations are compromised by that. We're the leaders right now and we set the tone. Not everybody cares, but we try to get as many people on board as we can so we can preserve what we have now for future generations."
In addition to a picnic with local food trucks offering their freshly prepared wares, the fair offered free materials for attendees to spread and further the Earth Day message, like reusable water bottles and live tree plugs for them to plant at home.
"Reusing a water bottle or planting a tree at home might not seem like a lot, but a little bit goes a long way when a lot of people do it," Barger added. "You might not think it's a big deal to reuse a water bottle, but when a lot of people do it every day, that adds up and makes a real difference."
Carderock employees also helped plant four American holly trees with the help of Capt. Mark Vandroff, Carderock Division commanding officer. Last year, employees planted six red maple trees at the West Bethesda campus, and the year before, Barger said they assembled to conduct invasive species removal - that is, to remove parasitic plant life hurting trees and other plants at Carderock. Barger said he wants to make sure activities like this that beautify the base are something he wants to include in the command's observances of Earth Day every year.
"Trees add color," Barger said. "It's a result you can see that will last forever. You look at that tree and it's a reminder of Earth Day all the time, long after we're gone."
For more information on Earth Day and the Earth Day's 50th Anniversary Countdown to 2020, you can visit the Earth Day Network at www.earthday.org.