WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
Naval Surface Warfare Center,
Carderock Division (NSWCCD) celebrated Earth Day with various base-wide events
focusing on protecting natural resources, April 19 in West Bethesda, Maryland.
Festivities kicked off with a 2.4 mile
fun run around the base led by NSWCCD Commanding Officer Capt. Rich Blank and Environmental
Engineer Mike Phillips.
“Every year it is a challenge to
create events that will entice dedicated Carderock employees away from their
daily work so we can educate them about conservation and carry out projects that
benefit our environment,” Phillips said. “While we have some success doing that
each year, including this year, I still hope to create future events that reach
further toward those goals.”
Along the route were several points of
interest including solar arrays installed on the roofs of various buildings
around the base providing green energy, multiple wetland areas and a former tree-planting
site past Building 18. Phillips said that the trees were planted for Earth Day
roughly 15 years ago. “The project removed from maintenance an area between the
road and the existing forest. They were only about 18 inches tall when they
were planted, but now they are about 20 feet tall and nearly integrated with
the adjacent forest.”
The afternoon included an
environmental open house and food truck picnic. Carderock employees enjoyed
various lunch options from six local food trucks. “Two years ago, Mike
[Phillips] pioneered the idea of having food trucks on base for Earth Day, it
was a big success and continues to be very popular with employees,” said NSWCCD
Environmental Branch Head Joe Barger.
Representatives from the Environmental
Office along with Naval Facilities Engineering Command Environmental Program, Melwood
Recycling and Montgomery County Recycling were on hand during the open house
for employees to talk to and learn about their programs. Water bottles and
evergreen saplings were given out as well as spill kits for those employees who
work in codes dealing with hazardous materials.
“I think the Earth Day celebration at
Carderock was the best ever, the turnout for the events (fun run, tree
planting, food trucks and informational open house) was very good and the
weather was ideal,” Barger said.
After the open house, volunteers
planted six red maple trees along the southern edge of the parade ground across
from Building 60. Barger said that red maples were selected because they are
native to this area, and because they are hardy and tend to thrive in moist
soil with direct sunlight, which is why they were in that particular location
on base.
“Red maples were also desirable
because they will add some fall color along the edge of the field,” Phillips
said. “We sought the largest trees we could plant manually to minimize their vulnerability
to browsing deer.”
Phillips said that the most important
thing every employee can do is remember that the ideals promoted on Earth Day
must be implemented every day of the year for them to be effective.“Culturally,
conservation must become something we do when at work, home, the store or wherever
we go. There are plenty of opportunities to be proactive and promote changes to
reduce our impact.”
“We should all view every day as an
opportunity to promote Earth Day,” Barger said. Some examples he gave were to
be conscious of pollution prevention and energy conservation; recycle both at work
and at home; only purchase what is absolutely necessary in order to reduce
waste; turn off computers, lights and appliances when not in use; use mass
transportation and walk or ride bikes wherever practical; always buy environmentally
friendly products (e.g., green products in environmentally friendly packaging);
use reusable water bottles with filtered tap water instead of buying bottled
water; and be conscious about heating and cooling settings. “These measures
will not only save the environment, they will also save us money,” Barger said.