Recycling a Celebration : Earth Day Is Transformed Into a Do-Your-Own-Thing Observance

Today is Earth Day, 1993.

But it’s turning out to be a pretty uneventful one in Ventura County.

The two biggest Earth Day events in the county today are a brown-bag brunch by the California Garden Club in Ojai and a benefit dinner in Ventura for a coalition of environmental groups.

Twenty-three years after the first Earth Day in 1970--marked by demonstrations throughout the nation--environmentalists and government officials alike concede that the national celebration has taken on a different look.

But the lack of planned activities for today doesn’t disturb many of them.

They pointed out that Earth Day celebrations are no longer limited to Earth Day itself. In fact, the city of Ventura turned this year’s anniversary into a monthlong event by celebrating Earth Day on April 3 in conjunction with Cottontail Canyon Day.

And other Earth Day events will be taking place throughout the county during the week.

Alan Godley of the Earth Action Group in Ventura says Earth Day has simply become more than a one-day celebration. Even more than a monthlong celebration.

As Godley sees it, Earth Day is now a way of life.

“It’s gone worldwide,” he said. “It’s become not just an idea, but an unstoppable force.

“If Earth Day does anything, it plants seeds into people’s minds as to what is possible,” he said. “It’s not up to us to make people change, or be judgmental. It’s up to us to plant the seed and let it grow. It’s up to us to water the seed in order for it to blossom.”

Although today’s is a relatively light schedule of Earth Day activities, the occasion will be marked throughout the county later in the week.

Organizers from Oxnard to Ojai and Thousand Oaks to Ventura have geared up to offer informational booths, speakers, tips on recycling and conservation and related events to anyone who is interested.

The city of Oxnard and Oxnard College will co-host the Earth Day Family Festival on Saturday at the campus. The college’s Ballet Folklorico will kick off the entertainment at 10 a.m., and other speakers, shows and displays will continue until 3 p.m.

“It’s an opportunity for us to let the public know about the importance of our recycling and waste reduction programs, and it’s also an opportunity to educate the public in general,” said Stan Hakes, the Oxnard recycling officer.

“In the long run it’s going to cost us additional money to clean up the environment, so we need to be aware of what we can do right now,” he said. “What we take care of today, we’ll be solving on our own and not leaving for our children and grandchildren.”

Hakes said about 20 tons of newspapers, glass and aluminum are being recycled by residents there every day. That may be enough, he said, to meet a 1995 goal of reducing landfill deposits by 25%.

“At some point in time, the landfill will be closed locally and we’ll be hauling trash long distances,” he said. “We’d like to recycle as much as possible so we don’t have to ship trash out of the county or significant distances within the county.”

On Wednesday, the first solar tracker at a California community college was dedicated at Moorpark College during its Earth Day observance. It was made possible through donations solicited by Muthena Naseri, an environmental sciences instructor.

“Solar energy has always been viable in its time and place,” Naseri said. “For areas that are away from the main grid, it’s the cheapest and most appropriate way to go.”

Electricity garnered from the tracker will be stored in a bank of six batteries and later used to light up a campus directory, he said.

Naseri warned consumers not to get caught up in Earth Day hoopla, but to put the information they glean to work.

“The term celebration may be the demise of Earth Day,” he said. “We have a slogan at school that every day is Earth Day. That’s a cliche, but at the expense of a cliche, I’ll say that. I’m trying to shape attitudes.”

Those who recycle for a living say the practice is gaining wider acceptance, in part because of high-profile events like Earth Day.

“It’s steadily increasing as awareness increases and our promotions increase,” said Grahame Watts, the recycling coordinator for Thousand Oaks. “It’s become such a habit now that recycling at the curb is just the standard. Now the question is ‘How can I dispose of yard waste and do composting?’ ”

If recycling and other conservation efforts are making a healthy impact on the planet, it’s probably not due to coordinated Earth Day salutes. Ventura’s decision to host its Earth Day party early this month was just one example of how different cities take different approaches to the day.

“One of the best things about it was that we reached a public that we don’t often reach at Earth Day,” said city recycling coordinator Eric Werbalowsky.

“They came out for the other events and they were exposed to the Earth Day issues there,” he said. “That’s what the environmental community and organizers need to do--reach out beyond the usual audiences for this information.”

One Earth Day activist said geography, workloads and budgets conspire to make it difficult to stage more regional celebrations.

“But I don’t see this necessarily as a problem because an environmental message is to try to do things within your community,” said Jeannette Scovill of Thousand Oaks, president of the Tri-Valley Environmental Committee.

“I don’t think it’s a disappointment that it hasn’t become more regional,” she said. “It actually may be more appropriate environmentally.”

Calendar of Events TODAY 10 a.m.--The California Garden Club Brown-bag Earth Day celebration at Taft Garden in Ojai. The event is sponsored by the Channel Islands District of the California Garden Club. For more information, call 386-3356. 6 p.m.--A coalition of environmental groups hosts a benefit dinner and silent auction fund-raiser at Franky’s Place, 456 E. Main St. in Ventura. Entertainment and speakers will follow. For more information, call 643-1862. FRIDAY 7:30 p.m.--The Coalition to Stop Weldon Dump stages a rally at the Nordhoff Gym in Ojai to protest the proposed landfill off Canada Larga Road. For more information, call 646-2661. SATURDAY 9 to 11 a.m.--Nature walk through Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks. For more information, call 494-8301. 10 a.m.--Spring Celebration of Trees art contest awards ceremony at Arroyo West Elementary School in Moorpark. The sponsors will hold a tree sale. For more information, call 529-6864. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.--Oxnard College and city of Oxnard co-sponsor the Earth Day Family Festival on the college campus. The event will include environmental games, speakers, information booths and a contest for turning garbage into art. For more information, call 385-8060. Noon to 4 p.m.--A tree-planting and park improvement project at Michael Drive and Borchard Road in Newbury Park. Sponsored by the Tri-Valley Environmental Committee and the Conejo Recreation and Park District, the event will include local arts and crafts, environmental readings and other activities. For more information, call 492-0811. 7 to 9:30 p.m.--Campfire storytelling and other activities at Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks. For more information, call 494-8301.