Inspiring Earth Day stories and resources. —————————————————————— Originally Published April 21, 2004 -- Your Wellness Guide Make Your Own Oasis Through Earth Day Projects —————————————————————— Driving from home to work to school only gives you a fractional view of your community.  You might notice some major advances in local construction, the removal of a large tree, or changes in the weather.  But unless you get out of your car, you rarely see and feel the community you live in. When you take a walk in your neighborhood, it is only then that you notice gravel that needs raking and cleaning, weeds that require pulling, and bits of trash that call for hands-on pick up.   This Earth Day, April 22, make a goal to contribute to the beauty and care of your environment and community. “When you step out of your home, you are in your community,” says Keep America Beautiful’s Vice President Gail Cunningham.  “It is important to keep your community beautiful, just like your home.” You might think, “how can I make a difference in my community?  I’m just one person.”  But you can. Over the past several years, two main Earth Day-oriented groups have sprung up to help develop, coordinate, and offer resources for environmental-type community projects: the national non-profit Keep America Beautiful (www.kab.org) and the Earth Day Network (www.earthday.net).  Both organizations offer programs and resources for helping you find volunteer projects that would help you take care of your Earth. Keep America Beautiful has a campaign called the “Great American Cleanup” that runs annually from March 1 to May 31.  The focus is to give emphasis on cleaning up communities for three months.  This year, 30,000 clean-up events were registered at KAB’s website, representing a projected 2.6 million volunteers.  Graphic Courtesy: Keep America Beautiful Keep America Beautiful has a "Family Hometown Makeover" program as part of its Great American Cleanup campaign to encourage citizens to take action to improve their communities. Anyone can go to KAB’s website and either register a clean-up project and obtain coordinating and sponsor help to complete it.  Or, you can find out about an already planned event and help out as a volunteer.  It’s a great way to get involved in your community as an individual, with your family, with friends, or office co-workers. Cunningham says the growth of American volunteers for cleanup projects has been extraordinary, climbing by 200,000 to 300,000, or almost 15 percent, each year. “With today’s busy lifestyle,” says Cunningham, “(people) really feel like they are pulled in so many directions.  It’s hard to feel personal responsibility until you realize you can be part of the solution.  The (clean-up) results really improve the communities and foster a lifelong commitment to maintain a safer and cleaner community year round.” In the summer of 1986, Philadephia-based Lily Yeh saw a tremendous need for community rehabilitation in the North Philadelphia area.  With vision, she saw opportunity in an abandoned lot and worked with the local children to transform it into a colorful public park.  During the following three summers, more children, along with adults and professional artists, joined in to complete the project.  Now, this once-barren eyesore is an art park, with mosaic sculptures and benches, vibrant murals and lush greenery -- an oasis of beauty and quiet for the residents of this impoverished urban area. As a result of that positive experience, Yeh established a non-profit organization called  The Village of Arts and Humanities (www.villagearts.org) to build community through innovative arts programs in education, land transformation, construction and economic development.  The community gardens, sculpture parks, crafts, and murals created for public enjoyment and beautification are inspiring. To beautify your community and world, here are some ideas: Coordinate green planting beautification, such as adding trees, grass, bushes, or flowers. Fix up a playground. Work with local officials to protect and clean up a waterway or a local, state, or national park.  Assist efforts in preserving natural public spaces. Paint over graffiti or pick up litter. Start a recycling program. Teach children at home or school about Earth and community stewardship. Two additional volunteer organizations that cater toward helping you develop community-enhancing projects are Make A Difference Day (www.makeadifferenceday.com) and Points of Light (www.pointsoflight.org). Terra Wellington is a national authority on creating a wellness lifestyle.  www.terrawellington.com  © Copyright Terra Wellington