Celebrate Earth Day in Cornelius

Celebrate Earth Day in Robbins Park, Cornelius, this Saturday, April 26th, at 9:00 am.  Some activities include clearing a walking trail, building a butterfly garden, and a town-wide clean-up.  The butterfly garden will be built near the tennis courts and the town of Cornelius would love volunteers!

Residents are also encouraged to clean-up their roads and neighboring roads from 1:00 – 3:00 pm on Saturday as part of ‘Keep Cornelius Clean.’  Encourage your neighbors to join you – the weekend will be beautiful.  If you are unable to attend any of these celebrations, think of ways you can help reduce, reuse, recycle, and conserve.  Any work towards conservation helps!

A few ways families can celebrate Earth Day at home are:
- growing vegetables/herbs in a garden
- having rain barrels to water your yard or garden
- compost
- recycle
- use natural cleaning products
- maximize trips using your car or consider walking
- using cloth cleaning wipes instead of paper towels
- unplugging appliances when not in use
- turn lights off when not in the room
- support local agriculture by shopping at farmer’s markets, participating in CSAs
- solar power
- carpool
- use re-usable packaging
- plant trees

Community Supported Agriculture

Have you participated in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in your area?  Families can sign-up to buy a ‘share’ of a farmer’s crops and the farm provides weekly boxes of fresh produce and other farm products.  You can often select foods you do and do not like, and receive a variation each week.  Sometimes these boxes can include the farm’s eggs, cheese, meat, plants or other products from their farm.  Some Community Supported Agriculture boxes are delivered to your doorstep, while others provide a common pick-up location for their share owners.

CSAs benefit both the farmer and the consumer.  The consumer receives fresh, local produce each week which provides a more well-rounded diet, while the farmer gets to market his/her products earlier and later in the season.  CSAs also offer the opportunity for families to try fruits or vegetables they would not normally purchase in the grocery store.  This, in turn, provides another opportunity to try out new recipes.  Your family may find a new favorite vegetable or dish!

To locate your closest farm participating in a Community Supported Agriculture, click here.  Many share owners look forward to their weekly deliveries and feel connected to the community by supporting their local crops.