5 ways you can honor Earth Day in Tampa Bay this weekend

The 54th Earth Day will take place on Monday, April 22. You could say every day is Earth Day, but the annual April holiday is a good reminder to take a look at how your everyday habits and even how you spend your leisure time can make a difference.

The first Earth Day was held in 1970. The hot-topic issues at the time included toxic drinking water, air pollution and the effects of pesticides. An impressive 20 million Americans — 10% of the population — ventured outdoors and protested together. Soon after, President Richard Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency, and Congress enacted the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

In the Tampa Bay area, Earth Day activities range from river and beach cleanups to removals of invasive plants, ladybug releases and markets of Florida-friendly plants held over the last two weekends in April.

Here are some ideas for ways to give back while also spending time with the family.

Help in a cleanup

There will be a number of organized activities this weekend and next weekend to mark Earth Day that will focus large groups on areas that need cleaning up, as well as parks and beaches. But you can do some cleanup on your own. Bring along a trash bag when you go on a walk to clean up any plastic you find. Make a detour while on a walk in your neighborhood to a nearby ditch or drainage area that is polluted with trash. Bring along trash bags while kayaking or paddleboarding and store the refuse in a backpack until you reach the shore.

Plant a tree

From flowering trees like magnolias or crepe myrtles to shade throwers like sycamores or weeping willows, trees capture carbon, cool overheated places and support pollinators. One oak tree brings in more insect and bird species than an entire yard of plants, according to the University of Florida.

Hillsborough County’s Natural Resources department has a list of approved trees to make it easy, and the Pinellas County’s Urban Forestry and Landscape Services department has expert arborists and grounds maintenance professionals that offer public education.

The University of Florida’s Florida-Friendly Landscaping program offers free guides to homeowners at Ask.IFAS.ufl.edu, also available at your local county’s Extension Service. In Clearwater, they will be giving away trees from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 27 at the Public Works Complex, 1650 N Arcturas Ave. Bring proof that you are a city resident, such as a utility bill or driver’s license. Call 727-562-4950 with questions.

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Support the pollinators

The Old Farmer’s Almanac recommends you make it inviting for native bees and other pollinating creatures such as ladybugs and beetles to frequent your garden. It helps to have the right plants, and they have a list of plants that attract butterflies as well as flowers that attract pollinating bees. You can also make a native bee house (much like a birdhouse), and go easy on the chemicals. The Florida Native Plant Society also has suggestions at fnps.org/plants/butterflies.

Ride your bike

Finding transportation alternatives that help reduce your carbon footprint is also a good exercise. So think about pedaling to work once in a while or using your bike for errands. For weekend fun, check bikeflorida.org for its suggestions for bicycle tourism. They have guides to the most scenic trails and also have multiday tours by bicycle that can take you through the Florida Keys or across the state’s trails.

If you’d like to learn from more experienced riders, the St. Petersburg Bicycle Club holds weekly rides around the area and also lists other recreational rides and opportunities on its website at stpetecycling.com. And the Tampa Bay Cycling meetup group is targeted to local cyclists interested in biking together in the Tampa Bay area. They offer multiple biking speed classes, some shorter introductory group rides averaging 10 to 12 miles per hour and others that are 15 to 18 miles per hour. Find a schedule at meetup.com/tampa-bay-cycling.

Go birding

Listening to and looking for birds means much more than just delighting in their beauty, the National Audubon Society says. “Over the past century, we have learned that to create a better future for birds, we need to also protect the places they need to survive.”

A way to become more aware is to take up the hobby.

The Tampa Audubon Society hosts beginning birding walks at local parks such as Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa and Fort De Soto in St. Petersburg. See tampaaudubon.org for its calendar. And at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, the family-friendly St. Petersburg preserve, there are 6 miles of trails and boardwalks with lakefront access and a freshwater marsh. The preserve often hosts birding walks, and on April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon, it is having a special Let’s Go Birding day hosted by the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. There will be educational activities set up at various stations along the trail. Admission is $3, $1.50 for ages 3-16 at 1101 Country Club Way S., St. Petersburg. 727-893-7326. Check the park’s calendar for upcoming events at stpeteparksrec.org/natureprograms.