Bat Appreciation Day, Central Florida Earth Day Celebrations, Brevard County’s Recycling Day, Family Earth Day In Orlando

NATIONAL BAT APPRECIATION DAY

Yesterday was International Bat Appreciation Day. Yes, well the important thing is, as part of Earth Week, I get a chance to remind folks how important bats are to a thriving ecosystem and maintaining local and biodiversity. Did you know there are over 1,400 different bat species of bat?  Did you know that contrary to popular belief, bats aren’t blind.  

Bat Appreciation Day was created by Bat Conservation International (BCI), which itself was founded in 1982 by a group of concerned scientists who recognized the importance of protecting bats. The mission of BCI is to conserve bats and their habitats through a combination of education, conservation, and research.

Bats are great pest controllers, create rich fertilizer for landowners, and pollinate fruit and flowers.. 

Did you know– Bats are the only mammals able to fly. They can live more than 30 years and can fly at speeds of up to 60 mph. Just sayin. 

Why do bats matter to us? Bats can eat up to 1,200 mosquitoes an hour. Bat droppings, called guano, are one of the richest fertilizers. Bats make up a quarter of all mammals on Earth. And most importantly, because the future needs all of us, and that includes bats.

DEEPER DIVE: Bat Conservation International, SCLS, California Wildlife, Outdoor Alabama

CENTRAL FLORIDA COMMUNITIES CELEBRATE EARTH DAY

April is Earth Month, this is Earth Week and April 22 is Earth Day. That’s why this week, we at The Climate Daily are  highlighting stories of communities, organizations and businesses celebrating the Earth! We’ll start in Florida, where despite the fact that its current governor has practically outlawed the phrase, “Climate Change,” volunteer groups throughout Central Florida are actively doing their part to mitigate the climate crisis. 

From a group of coastal towns called Space Coast all the way to downtown Orlando, folks are taking part in cleanup activities leading up to a big celebration called Central Florida Earth Day. Now in its 17th year, Central Florida Earth Day is the longest running Earth Day festival in that region.

And according to its website, Central Florida Earth Day is brought to us by Vegetarians of Central Florida, a social and educational group for vegans, and those aspiring to be, in the Central Florida area. Clean up projects planned in honor of Earth Day Celebrations include:

• A trail clean up

• Park cleanup and recycling effort

• Recycling collection

• Hazardous waste and electronics

• Tree planting and litter pick up

DEEPER DIVE: News 6 Team, CFearthDay.org

BREVARD COUNTY’S RECYCLING COLLECTION DAY

Here’s a fun Florida challenge in honor of Earth Day. Brevard County launched a challenge called Ten for Ten Collection Challenge. The challenge is to divert 10 pounds of waste per household from going to landfills in honor of the County’s tenth anniversary of celebrating Earth Day.

They don’t just want any waste, they want material that cannot be recycled or placed on curbside as part of regular waste pickup. The effort started on March 22 and will end on April 22, Earth Day. The challenges’ main goals are

• Divert at least 10 lbs of recyclable waste per household
• Raise awareness of the recycling programs currently available through Recycle Brevard
• Recycle at least 2,200 lbs of waste in that month; gather 220 participants
• Help the community celebrate Earth Day by taking meaningful action

DEEPER DIVE: Recycle Brevard, Hometown News, Lagoon Loyal

FAMILY EARTH DAY IN ORLANDO

They’re calling it “dress for the mess”. In partnership with Wells Fargo, the city of Orlando has organized an Earth Day event at the Wadeview Recreation Center. The event happens on Friday, April 22 AND Saturday, April 23 from 9am to noon.

Why dress for the mess? Volunteers will be planting trees and picking up litter. The tree planting will give a boost to Orlando’s “One Person, One Tree” campaign to help reduce the CO2 emissions in Orlando. “One Person, One Tree” originally launched in 2015. 

Mayor Buddy Dyer has set the goal for the city to run on 100% renewable energy by 2050; to be zero-waste with a recycling rate above 34% by 2040; and is participating in Florida’s Long Range Transportation plan, set for completion by 2040. 

And in an effort to combat climate change, improve local air quality and decrease the urban heat island effect, the city of Orlando has declared its intention to increase its tree canopy coverage from 25% to 40% by the year 2040. 

According to Ideas for Us, and the city of Orlando’s website, if every resident of Orlando planted a tree, the city’s canopy would increase from 25% to 40%, which is roughly equivalent to taking 40,000 cars off of the road. This would amount to around 250,000 new trees from the initial 25% canopy coverage. And that’s why “One Person, One Tree” was launched.

And why do Orlando’s sustainability goals matter to us? Cynically, if Florida man Mayor Dyer was able to get that city’s citizens to sign off, then the rest of America has no excuse. Altruistically, the “One Person, One Tree” goal is an easy template to follow.

DEEPER DIVE: City of Orlando, One Person, One, Tree, Ideas for Us