Reno Earth Day
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Washoe County Sustainability booth at Reno’s Earth Day festivities on Saturday, April 19. On yet another beautiful, sunny day, it was wonderful to talk with so many people about local food, bicycles, solar panels, energy bills, community education and so many other topics.
As you may know, on March 11, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a Climate Action Plan for both County operations and community wide. Earth Day attendees helped us prioritize our community-wide climate actions with colorful stickers (each person got three stickers to choose their favorite actions – colors don’t matter).
People voting for their favorite Community Climate Actions. Credit: Brian Beffort
Here are the priorities according to Earth Day votes:
- Youth Education: 33 votes
- Expanding solar and other clean energy: 27 votes
- Food- and green-waste composting: 26 votes
- Community Forestry: 24 votes
- Increase residential and commercial recycling: 22 votes
- Protect the Truckee River Watershed: 21 votes
- Conserve wild and native open spaces: 20 votes
- Decrease single-use plastics: 18 votes
This is great feedback that tells us where to focus more attention. Good news! Work is already happening across all of these fronts. More details to come as we make progress.
Washoe County’s Sustainability Division: Sustainability Manager Brian Beffort and Fuse Fellow Emily Stapleton.
Community Compost Survey
Speaking of compost, Washoe County, Reno and Sparks are partnering on a compost survey. We are looking at opportunities to reduce waste and introduce composting in the community as a way to advance sustainability and address requests from residents. Your input will guide future efforts around food waste and green waste disposal in the region. Your input is highly valued, and the survey will help us understand the community’s knowledge around composting and the level of interest in participating in future programs.
Take this survey today.
Dark Skies
The universe is a beautiful place when you can gaze into it from the Massacre Rim Dark Sky Sanctuary. Photo courtesy Kurt Kuznicki/Friends of Nevada Wilderness.
On Tuesday, April 22, the Board of County Commissioners honored this week (April 21-25) as International Dark Sky Week. Commissioner Clara Andriola read this proclamation, noting that the rural town of Gerlach, which has some of the darkest skies in the nation, will seek certification as a Nevada Starry Skies Community, as recognized by the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation, to raise awareness of light pollution and promote responsible outdoor lighting. In far northern Washoe County, Massacre Rim was certified as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2019.
Why are dark skies important?
- Bright lights upset our own circadian rhythms, making it harder to sleep.
- Bright lights disrupt nocturnal wildlife, such as pest-eating owls and nocturnal pollinators.
- Bright lights use more energy, which produces more greenhouse gas emissions and costs you more money.
- The glare from bright lights reduces our eyes’ natural ability to see in low-light situations, which doesn’t necessarily improve safety.
- Gazing up into the universe is awesome in the truest sense of the word!
Learn more and help Washoe County protect our wonderful dark skies with the Nevada Division of Outdoor Recreation’s Dark Sky Toolkit, which explains…
- Why dark skies are important
- The best spots to see them in Nevada
- How you can reduce excessive outdoor lighting on your home or business without compromising safety or cost
- How you can join others who are working to form a Nevada Chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association
Connect with us
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Share your sustainability ideas with us here.
And remember, every day is Earth Day. Help us care for our planet so it can care for us.