The ceremonial tree planting will be at 1 p.m. today at Huffman Park. Huffman Park is located at 2100 John Gray Road in Fairfield.
When visiting the park, attendees can also learn about the importance of Earth Day and ways they can help support the environmental movement, such as by recycling.
Mays said Earth Day “is an extremely important day to celebrate for both organizations who take great strides in protecting our environment and social responsibilities.”
She said Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department has partnered with Duke Energy every year for the past seven years to plant a tree in celebration of Earth Day.
“We are proud to be a long-time community partner with Fairfield Parks and Recreation to help celebrate Earth Day, said Tim Abbott, manager, community relations at Duke Energy. We can all play a part in building a sustainable future, even something as simple as planting a tree that not only benefits the environment but adds natural beauty to our world.”
Various kinds of trees have been planted in the past, including a Tulip Poplar or a Northern Catalpa.
“Huffman Park is our natural discovery park, which we devote a lot of our environmental education to, so typically, everything has been at Huffman Park,” Mays said.
We are excited about educating the community on how important trees are for the environment, she said, they do so many things for the environment, like attracting birds and wildlife, or purifying the air.
Before or after the ceremony, community members are encouraged to walk through the park, where they will find several other educational pieces, such as the Pollinator Habitat area, or Reforestation Plan.
“There are a lot of educational opportunities within Huffman Park, and we encourage everyone to walk around. I hear it’s going to be a pretty day, so it will be a great day to learn about the environment,” Mays said.
Other ways residents can celebrate Earth Day is by picking up trash when on a walk, or by reducing one’s plastic consumption. Community members can also reach out to elected officials to show their support of tree plantings. Fairfield is a “Tree City USA,” representative, and the city has been given that honor for the past 27 years.
“It’s really simple steps and being cognitive of our choices, like walking to places that we normally drive to, that we could walk to, or reducing the use of plastic bags and using reusable bags, and those kinds of things,” Mays said.
In terms of other celebrations, she said this year is a little different, because Fairfield Parks and Recreation would also typically partner with Izaak Walton during the week of Earth Day to do a big community tree planting, and other activities, but with COVID, those events and activities have been delayed. This year, there is just this one ceremony. The hope is that those festivities will return next year.
Earth Day is Apr. 22. The first Earth Day on Apr. 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans, and it is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Growing out of the first Earth Day, more than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. To learn more about the Earth Day, or how to get involved, go to Earthday.org.
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