The San Carlos Earth Day event on Laurel Street drew crowds on April 19, as attendees explored booths from sustainability groups, public safety officials, and local agencies promoting environmental action, waste reduction, and health and safety.
Held next to the weekly farmers market, the event benefited from heavy foot traffic and offered educational and engaging activities for children and adults alike.
The Wheeler Plaza Parking Lot hosted booths supporting local environmental and safety causes, including those by Recology, the San Carlos and Redwood City Fire Department, the San Carlos Youth Advisory Council, and Silicon Valley Clean Water. These booths distributed educational pamphlets, handed out merchandise, and asked attendees questions for small prizes.
For San Carlos, environmental causes have long been a part of its mission, and continue to be today.
“Sustainability has been a part of San Carlos forever. We have always had a sustainability team, so it is part of the city’s responsibility to be environmentally conscious,” said Akanksha Chopra, a member of the city’s sustainability team and a representative for their booth.
According to EarthDay.org, the day was founded in 1970 by U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson. Earth Day takes place annually on April 22 to raise awareness of environmental issues, sustainability, and public health. It is commemorated nationwide through parades, festivals, and other events.
These functions raise awareness of issues such as carbon dioxide emissions, clean transportation like biking, and the polluting consequences of fires.
The city promotes initiatives such as improving home electrification, incentivizing electric vehicle charging, and promoting sustainable food consumption.
“The adopt-a-drain program encourages every resident to adopt a drain near their home, sweep it clear during the rain, which helps prevent local flooding. We have our electric leaf blower program, which gives a $100 reward per resident or $1,000 per business to switch from gas-powered leaf blowers, which are very loud,” Chopra said.
Other means of environmental sustainability include proper garbage disposal, such as recycling plastics, composting biodegradable items, and minimizing the use of the trash can, as it often ends up in the landfill, according to Recology.
Recology and RethinkWaste have made it their mission for over 40 years to serve San Carlos and the rest of San Mateo County by promoting these greener ways.
“We handle waste services from Burlingame down to East Palo Alto, and we make sure everyone is doing proper sorting and understands its effects. We make sure that things do not end up in the landfill, but that they are being recycled and composted, and keep things out of it,” said Julia Au, a representative of Rethink Waste.
At the booths, there were trivia questions about Earth Day, spin-the-wheel activities, and bicycle rides to help educate young children about clean transportation and major environmental problems.
At the event, many residents of San Carlos and the surrounding area enjoyed the educational commemoration with fun activities. Areas like the Climate Carnival, with a beanbag toss to knock down climate change contributors, Planet Pinball, and a rebuild-the-Earth simulation, helped engage young children in the event.
“The activities have been great. We have two boys, so we are doing a lot of the kid ones, like this climate carnival,” said Andrew Kim, a San Carlos resident who attended the event.
Other groups raised awareness of safety issues that also had negative environmental impacts, such as the San Carlos and Redwood City Fire Departments. Concerned with public safety, they distributed pamphlets on staying safe from fires sparked by electrical mishaps (such as faulty plugs), chemical issues (such as lithium batteries), and large-scale disasters (such as wildfires).
“Right now, we have heightened awareness of wildfires in the hillsides. We are having a lot of fires, and I have personally responded to many situations that have resulted in fatalities, including charging and battery fires, such as lithium-ion or other types of batteries,” said Mark Laine, a firefighter with the San Carlos and Redwood City Fire Department.
The fire department, which responds to calls for fires, floods, rescues, medical emergencies, and more, plays a key role in educating the public about how to stay safe.
Although primarily concerned with the safety and well-being of San Carlos and its residents, as well as its neighbors, the environmental benefits of preventing fires are significant.
“When we don’t have a fire, we don’t have air pollution or water pollution since there is no fire to put out. When you have a fire, there is pollution that we never really talk about, and when there are big fires, it puts up lots of smoke, and the water has a runoff,” Laine said.
Many of the booths promoted clean energy and clean water and were run by third-party organizations, not directly associated with the City of San Carlos. Others were county initiatives, including San Mateo County Safe Routes, which promotes activities such as walking to school at public and private schools across the county.
“We promote clean transportation like walking, biking, and rolling because it’s healthier for everybody, and we can reduce air pollution,” said Melissa Ruiz, a booth representative of San Mateo County Safe Routes.
One of more than 10,000 events nationwide, including some hosted by the Cities of Belmont and San Mateo, the event promoted public safety and activism against the threat of climate change.
“It’s a combination of sustainability and resiliency, and of having this preventative, proactive approach,” Laine said.
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