**Update for 4/22/19: Brassica is offering FREE falafel salads or sandwiches all day until 10pm in honor of Earth Day! **
Call me a crazy environmentalist nut or the recycling boss or whatever, but I'm a huge supporter of taking care of our planet. I'm known to scold people for not recycling and buying cases of bottled water. We follow the mantra: reduce, reuse, recycle. My husband and I try really hard to be as good to the earth as we can. If we junk it up and pollute it, we won't have a very nice place to live, right?
I've heard of Earth Fest for years but never had the opportunity to attend. This year, we made sure to change that. It was a gorgeous spring day in the CLE so it was the perfect excuse to head to the Berea Fairgrounds, enjoy the sunshine and stuff our faces with food truck food.
This year's theme was the Year of Clean Water. We are so fortunate here in NE Ohio because we have an abundance of clean water thanks to Lake Erie. It's something we definitely shouldn't take for granted to waste. Just ask someone from the southwest or California.
This sign greeted us as we entered:
Why can't more events and companies embrace the concept of Zero Waste? I get so annoyed when they don't even make the effort to recycle bottles and cans.
Very appropriately, a huge windmill overlooked the venue.
We learned about one of my favorite ways to be green - bike riding! Bike Cleveland and Slow Ride Cleveland were there spreading the word. Did you know that May is Bike Month? Tonight is the kick off party at Brick & Barrel. There's a ton of other events all month long - check it out!
The food trucks were calling our name.
There were so many good choices. Krav, calzones, shaved ice, BBQ, burgers were there and more. We opted for the taco trio from Barrio. They were super messy but delicious. I loved how they had divided bins for compostables, cans/glass/bottles and actual trash. They even had people manning the stations to help you figure out what went where.
The highlight of this event for me personally was finally getting to meet Dick Goddard! I've watched him my entire life and I love his dedication to the animals. In addition to being THE weatherman in Cleveland, he's also a good salesman. I'm now the proud owner of an autographed calendar thanks to a donation to help our furry friends.
We also learned a lot about recycling, composting, reducing meat consumption, alternative energy and other green topics. We signed up for a composting seminar are going to get one of these cool composting bins.
My friend @sos_jr was at EarthFest too. His post includes tons of pictures and more info about the event - check it out!
There are a lot of ways to improve your impact on the environment: bike to work, pledge to stop buying bottled water, install low-flow shower heads, recycle paper, cans, bottles and plastic, unplug chargers, stop unwanted junk mail, install energy efficient bulbs, use reusable shopping bags, don't buy individually packaged snacks. Click here to find out about recycling in your community.Even if you start with one thing, it really adds up.
- The average U.S. citizen uses 200lbs. of plastic per year and only 3% is recycled.
- Every ton of recycled paper saves17 trees and 462 gallons of oil.
- Turning off the water faucet while brushing your teeth can cut your usage in half.
- If everyone in the US was able to reduce their 10.8 pieces of junk mail received each week, we could save nearly 100 million trees each year.