There’s a popular saying that goes if you want to save the planet, start in your own backyard. The idea being that you don’t have to put the weight of the world on your shoulders to improve its environmental well-being. There are a lot of small ways that you can help as well. 

Friday, April 22 is Earth Day. It has been celebrated on April 22 every year since its founding in 1970. The person who was instrumental in getting the holiday started was a Wisconsin Senator named Gaylord Nelson. The State Park on the north side of Lake Mendota is named for him. Through the Madison College Library’s subscription database EbscoHOST, you can read an e-book called Beyond Earth Day chronicling Nelson’s efforts in getting it started.  

There’s a plethora of opportunities in the Madison area to volunteer for Earth Day activities. You can look for volunteer opportunities at the city, county and state home pages, or you can check at https://www.volunteeryourtime.org/ where the Madison College Volunteer Center partners with UW-Madison, Edgewood College and United Way of Dane County to offer a clearinghouse of service opportunities.  

However, if you can’t make any of those opportunities, think about some small things you can do individually to contribute, and the library can help with inspiration for ideas. 

If you do a search on the subject “Environmental protection citizen participation” in the library catalog, you will find many books, e-books, videos, e-videos, articles and more with suggestions on how you can help to make the environment better, even in small ways. 

For example, a book that will come up with that subject search is “The Green Book: The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet One Simple Step at a Time” by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen. The book has a lot of accessible advice on how one can help make the planet healthier at home, work, school, entertainment venues, shopping, traveling and more. Simple ideas like using one less paper napkin or towel each day, or not asking for paper receipts all the time. 

Another book record you’ll come across with that subject search is “No Impact Man” by Colin Beavan. The book follows the efforts of Beavan who vowed to try for an entire year to reduce as much as possible his personal environmental impact. There is also an e-video record of “No Impact Man” that links you to a free streaming documentary version from the library’s subscription database Films on Demand.  

Films on Demand also offers a couple thousand other videos on the subject of environmental science worth viewing. The library’s other streaming video database, Kanopy, also has films on environmental sciences. 

The library also has a great Environmental Science Research Guide at https://libguides.madisoncollege.edu/enviroscience with recommended web sites and more. 

Think about participating in Earth Day, whether big or small. Every effort helps!