Earth Month - That’s a Wrap! 🌎
What a month! Spring is our favorite time of year because we are celebrating Earth Day and Earth Month! This year was better than ever, with a great lineup of events all benefitting our environment.
Here are some of the highlights:
Picked up 359 pounds of trash at our three plogging events
1,600 seedlings were planted in Newport & Bristol Counties
Distributed 75 rain barrels, which will divert thousands of gallons of polluted stormwater from the watershed
Laughed our way through Comedy for Conservation with comedian Ashley Gutermuth
Read for the full recap of Earth Month!
Plogging
Plogging is jogging or walking while picking up trash. Over the three plogging events we hosted in April, we picked up a whopping 359 pounds of trash! Thank you to all of our ploggers, Newport Rhode Races, Newport Run & Chug, Tiverton Litter Committee, Farmcoast Run Club, Keep Nature Wild, and the Low Impact Alliance!
Plog Newport - Picked up 115 pounds of trash after the Newport Rhode Race
Plog Tiverton - Picked up 128 pounds of trash around coastal Fogland Beach area
Plog & Chug - Picked up 116 pounds of trash around Newport with local running group Newport Run & Chug
Earth Day Seedling Sale
On Earth Day we distributed over 1,600 seedlings to local residents. These seedlings will grow into resilient allies for Narragansett Bay - absorbing excess stormwater, creating habitat for wildlife, and controlling erosion. Thank you to all of our volunteers who helped to prep the seedlings, Horus from Hawk & Handaw Farm for his expertise, to Greenvale Vineyards for hosting us, and in-kind donations from BioBag, Stop & Shop, and Greenhouse Megastore.
Rain Barrels
For the fourth year we hosted rain barrel workshops for local residents. Overall we sold out and distributed 75 barrels. These barrels collect stormwater for use in gardens and on lawns. This stops stormwater from flowing down our streets, collecting pollutants before being washed into the watershed. Rain barrels are an easy way to reduce water use at your home. Thank you all of our volunteers including students from Roger Williams University and the Mount Hope High School Green Club. Thank you to Coca Cola for donating the barrels and to the towns of Bristol, Barrington, and Middletown. We will be having more events in the future - they usually sell out so sign up when you see them!
Comedy for Conservation
Comedian Ashley Gutermuth returned to Rhode Island for our clean comedy show - Comedy for Conservation. It was “all laughs, no litter” at the second year of this show. Ashley is an avid plogger with an eight-year daily running streak and three-year daily plogging streak. She is also a military spouse - thank you to all of the local service members and military spouses who turned out to see Ashley perform. Thank you to Ashley for joining us, to Helly Hansen Newport for sponsoring, and Greenvale Vineyards for hosting. Follow Ashley on Instagram for a laugh!
