Local Ways to Make a Big Impact
Earth Day is sometimes overlooked as just another date on the calendar, but it serves as a powerful reminder to appreciate and protect the only planet we call home. Earth is the only planet we have and it has sustained us for so long: so why not adopt sustainable practices that help protect the planet?
This year, think beyond a single day of celebration and consider how small, sustainable choices can add up to a lasting impact. While there are plenty of Earth Day events happening around the city, there are also simple, hands-on ways to make a difference right here in our local community. From everyday habits to community involvement, these small actions can help protect the planet not just on Earth Day, but all year long.
Attend Earth Day Pensacola
Pensacola’s annual Earth Day celebration returns on April 18 from 10 am to 4 pm, bringing a full day of eco-friendly fun, education and community connection to Bayview Park in East Hill. Earth Day Pensacola held its first local event in 1970, in conjunction with the very first national Earth Day, and has grown into a beloved local tradition focused on sustainability and outdoor engagement. Blending entertainment with purpose, this familyfriendly festival will feature live music, food vendors and hands-on activities that encourage visitors to learn simple ways to protect the environment in their everyday lives. The festival will also include a variety of education stations highlighting important topics like conservation, recycling and coastal protection. Attendees will also enjoy an artisan market with handmade goods and fresh offerings from local farmers.
Whether you’re interested in sustainability, shopping local or just enjoying a day outdoors, Earth Day Pensacola offers a meaningful and engaging way to celebrate the planet. The festival is free and open to the public, and all ages are welcome. Bayview Park is located at 2200 E. Lloyd St. in Pensacola. For event details, visit earthdaypensacola.com.
Recycle
It’s simple, but it matters—recycling is one of the easiest ways to reduce the amount of waste headed to landfills. Transforming everyday garbage into useful items for tomorrow is a tried-and-true method of preserving our environment. Recycling extends the life of existing landfills, decreases the need for new ones and reduces greenhouse emissions. Locally, ECUA’s single-stream system makes it easy—no sorting required—but it’s important to only place accepted items in your recycling can. These include glass jars and bottles, paper, cardboard, plastic bottles, aluminum, tin and steel cans, as well as metal pots, pans and cookie sheets.
To learn more on the dos and don’ts of recycling in our area, check out ecua.fl.gov. For non-recyclable items that accumulate quickly like plastic shopping bags, check with local grocery stores like Publix, as they often accept plastic bags for recycling and have receptacles outside for easy disposal.
Clean Your Block
Keep Pensacola Beautiful, now known as Our Corner, is a local organization that connects with the community through litter cleanups, recycling programs and educational outreach aimed at improving environmental quality and building community pride. One of its key programs, Clean Your Block, focuses on keeping Pensacola neighborhoods free of litter. On scheduled dates, volunteers are invited to walk a designated block, picking up trash and helping restore areas whose vbeauty has been hidden beneath waste. Litter not only harms plant and animal life, but also takes away from the natural surroundings and can lower community morale for those who see it every day.
This month, Our Corner will host Clean Your Block events on April 11 from 9 to 11 am at 1301 N. 9th Ave. in Pensacola and on April 25 at Weis Elementary School. Our Corner also offers post-event cleanup services and gives residents the chance to Adopt a Spot, committing to maintain a specific area in exchange for a sign recognizing their efforts. To learn more about how to get involved and make a local impact, visit kpbfl.org.
Participate in the Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup
Another great initiative for focused and organized area cleanup efforts is the Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup program. Although originally implemented as the City of Pensacola’s cleanup program in the 1990s, the program was reinvented as the Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup program in 2011, when it expanded to include all city neighborhoods with an annual cleanup between January and October. The next cleanup day is expected to take place in late April, when Sanitation Services employees will collect materials placed curbside. This service is provided without charge, just be sure to place items curbside before 7 am on the scheduled cleanup day. Items eligible for removal include household appliances, electronics, furniture and mattresses, carpeting, barbecue grills (without propane tanks), bicycles, toys, tires, old paint and paint cans. Just remember to keep tires and paint cans separate from other debris and do not place cleanup piles under low-hanging lines or near poles, fences or mailboxes. For updates on the next Mayor’s Neighborhood Cleanup, visit cityofpensacola.com.
Cultivate Native Plants
If you’ve ever thought about starting a garden, or simply doing some landscaping around your yard, Native Plant Company is a fantastic resource for ensuring you’re choosing plants that are native to the area. Many popular plants chosen for gardens or backyards may look nice, but are actually invasive species. If you want to support the local ecosystem, it would be much better to choose native plants, as doing so promotes biodiversity and also means less effort for you to maintain the health of your plants, as they will have less difficulty growing in their native soil and climate than a plant from somewhere else would. On their website, Native Plant Company has extensive information and resources on local flora, providing education on different kinds of plants, tips to aid beginners in growing successfully and guides on what plants would be beneficial for what purposes.
The company is passionate about helping people contribute to facilitating and nurturing the natural ecosystem that existed in this area before it was industrialized, in addition to educational resources and providing the opportunity for individuals to directly order specific plants through their website. They can be found regularly at the Palafox Market, with more information available at nativeplantcompany.com.
Shop Sustainably
Shopping can create a surprising amount of waste, both visible and behind the scenes. On the consumer side, singleuse plastic grocery bags are a common culprit, often piling up in landfills, drifting into the ocean or blowing across roads like tumbleweeds. Less visible, but equally impactful, is the environmental impact of fast fashion, where rapidly produced clothing contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, water overuse and micro-plastics in our oceans. You can help reduce this impact by shopping more intentionally and choosing sustainable alternatives. Avoid supporting fast-fashion brands by visiting locally owned thrift shops like Loaves and Fishes or exploring downtown boutiques such as Colette and Hemline Pensacola, which offer more sustainably sourced, eco-friendly clothing options. To cut down on personal waste, consider using reusable tote bags instead of disposable ones, or participate in programs that allow you to bring your own containers when purchasing bulk or liquid items.
Ever’man Cooperative Grocery & Cafe is a local favorite offering organic foods, fresh local produce and sustainable initiatives that encourage customers to bring their own bags and purchase returnable milk and honey jars to keep materials in circulation. Ever’man is open daily and has two locations—on Garden Street and Nine Mile Road in Pensacola. Visit everman.org to learn more.
Plant a Tree
A straightforward way to strengthen the environment is to simply plant a tree. However, while in theory it might seem like a simple thing to do, the process can be intimidating to undertake with no guidance. An excellent resource to turn to is the UF/IFAS extension gardening solutions website, which offers a list of native trees with sizes ranging from the small-to-medium redbud and red maple to larger species like the bald cypress and live oak.
On the UF/IFAS website you can find plenty of information on everything you need to know about planting a native tree. There are guides on what to consider in terms of placement when planting, advice on what type of trees to plant, detailed step-by-step instructions on the actual planting of the tree itself and tips for further care to ensure the tree continues to grow well.All the information you need can be found at gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu.