FIELD Notes

By Julia Stuble, Richard Garrett, Jr., and Lisa McGee

You are most likely already making great choices throughout the year to benefit the environment.

Thanks for all the good things you do on a daily basis!

The Outdoor Council staff is using the upcoming celebration of Earth Day as an opportunity to ask ourselves what additional things we might try this year in an effort to make our local and global community a better place to live.

(Further below you can find information on great Earth Day events in Fremont County.)

Earth Day Resolutions from the Staff

The Council regularly analyzes its carbon footprint and we work actively to reduce it. Our rooftop solar panels, low thermostat settings, carpooling strategies, and frequent teleconferencing help us to be more efficient and conserve resources. All this and more is thanks to our members.

But we are always looking for ways to do even better.

Please share your own helpful hints and inspiration on our Facebook page to help spread the word!

Here are some Earth Day resolutions Wyoming Outdoor Council staff members have made for 2013:

• Drive even less; carpool, bike, or walk. Consolidate errands and share tasks with friends.
• Turn off cars if we would otherwise idle more than 10 seconds (unless the car has an advanced fuel/energy management system). Here is what our friends at Environmental Defense Fund say about this. Also, accelerate and slow down as gradually as possible to drastically increase fuel efficiency.
• Sign up for an energy audit of our homes and work to implement the recommended efficiency suggestions.
• Be sure to unplug appliances not in use and also unplug rechargeables when they have been charged up.
• Remember to use those cloth grocery bags.
• Reduce waste by reusing containers and bags, and compost food scraps. Buy in bulk and bring prepared meals or leftovers for lunch: food packaging waste accounts for more than two-thirds of the total packaging loads in the U.S.
• Support local agriculture (yes, even in Wyoming!). Purchasing from local and regional growers at farmer’s markets, buying a quarter cow from a local rancher, and finding sources for “backyard eggs” can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of foods our families eat. Plus, it all tastes better than meat and vegetables shipped transnationally, if not trans-continentally. There is a surprising array of resources for local foods in this state.
• Actively prevent unwanted mail. Visit www.catalogchoice.org for an easy and free way to stop unwanted catalogs.
• Plant a tree, or donate to have trees planted. http://www.earthday.org/campaign/canopy-project
• Landscape using native grasses and plants that require less water and attract pollinators.
• Support elected officials who are committed to conservation. Have encouraging and friendly conversations with the officials with whom we disagree; focus on shared community interests rather than positions.
• Support green businesses and conservation organizations at all scales.
• Make mini-cooperatives with friends—whether it is sharing space in a chest freezer and the half of a cow in it, exchanging the latest books and magazines, passing along children’s clothing and toys, and sharing the work of processing bulk foods, like late-summer cases of peaches!
• And, of course, get outside often to enjoy the environment we all love and work to protect.

Earth Day Events in Lander and Riverton

In Fremont County, the Outdoor Council is hosting or partnering in three events to celebrate Earth Day and our local communities.

You may be interested in special Earth Day yoga classes, which will benefit the Outdoor Council—or join us at our Wild & Scenic Film Festival, co-hosted by Wild Iris Mountain Sports. This year’s films are both uplifting and thought provoking about local and regional environments.

Earth Day Yoga

Where: Ananda Yoga studio, 145 N. 3rd St., Lander.
When: April 22, 5:30-7 p.m.
Cost: This session of Yoga 101 will donate $1 to the Outdoor Council for every attendee. Use your membership, punch card, or drop-in rate to help Ananda reach their goal of donating $100 toward our work!

Additionally: Ananda Yoga will also donate $1 for every attendee at two kids’ yoga sessions:
When: April 24, 2:45-3:30 p.m. (ages 8-12) and 3:45-4:30 p.m. (ages 5-8)

More details can be found at www.anandayogalander.com

All skill levels are welcomed—for first-time visitors, bring along a signed waiver (available on the website) to save time before the class begins.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival “A Climate of Change”

Where: The Little Theater at CWC, Riverton, WY
When: April 25, 6:30-9 p.m.

Where: The Monarch Room, Pronghorn Lodge, Lander, WY
When: April 26, 6:30-9 p.m.

Cost: Advanced purchase at Wyoming Outdoor Council office or Wild Iris Mountain Sports: $8 adults, $4 for those 12 years and younger. At the door: $10 adults, $5 for those 12 years and younger. $5 students. OR, with a first time annual membership of $15 to the Outdoor Council, free admission! Bring your friends.

Additionally: We will be selling advance tickets from 12-4 p.m., Saturday, April 20, at Wild Iris Mountain Sports. With each ticket purchase you can take home a free pansy donated by Sprouts Greenhouse to celebrate Earth Day.

Details: The same films will show both nights. The diverse selection ranges from examinations of cultural change and climate change, adventure, lighthearted perspectives and in-depth investigations, as well as portrayals of environmental challenges and solutions. Join us for this globetrotting and backyard-exploring festival of fun and provocative films.

One last ongoing event: Advocate Weeks at Wild Iris Mountain Sports

On behalf of the Wyoming Outdoor Council, have a great Earth Day and thank you for your continued support of the work we’re doing to safeguard Wyoming’s environment and quality of life now and for future generations.