Earth Task Force Helped Bag It!

On Saturday February 19th, 2011, a few enthusiastic members of the Cottonwood Institute’s Earth Task Force (ETF) took part in the Boulder International Film Festival’s screening of Bag It, a documentary about waste created by plastic bags and plastic usage, in general.  Gracie Currier-Tait, Kelly Percy, and Zander Deetz represented the ETF and shared a bit about our efforts and actions to the community members in the audience.

The ETF members were given the opportunity to introduce the film, telling the audience a little about themselves and the efforts of the ETF.  After being inspired by Gracie, Kelly, and Zander, the audience was excited to watch the film. Bag It was an awesome and inspiring film about the ridiculous amount of plastic used every day. We learned shocking facts such as the statistic that 500 billion plastic bags a year are overflowing landfills, clogging rivers and creating vast wastelands of trash! The film was not all depressing facts, however, it had a very positive message and continues to inspire us to reduce our use of plastic. It was also hilarious, the narrator, Jeb Berrier, did a fantastic job keeping the premise of the movie light and personal. Overall, the movie was very entertaining and should be watched nationally.

After the screening, the students were invited to the Call 2 Action tent on Pearl Street. In the tent, audience members asked Gracie, Kelly, and Zander questions about the Earth Task Force and its efforts. Everyone was really impressed and supportive of everything the Earth Task Force does. The students also got the opportunity to meet Suzan Beraza, the director of Bag It. She was super excited to learn about the positive change the Earth Task Force is making. We were just as excited to meet her and talk with her for a bit.

Participating in the screening of Bag It! was a lovely way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. In addition to watching an award-winning film, we were able to meet a lot of enthusiastic community members and spread the word about the Earth Task Force. Now you have the opportunity to watch Bag It! Be sure to check out Bag It on PBS on April 18th, 2011 and check out the trailer by Clicking Here.

This article was written by Sinead Maguire and edited by Ford Church.

West Denver Prep “Whips” into Shape this Spring!

The Cottonwood Institute and the Garden Club of Denver teamed up with an amazing group of curious sixth graders from West Denver Preparatory Charter School for a service-learning trip to Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. It was a beautiful sunny day and our mission was to plant cottonwood tree whips for re-planting later in the summer to help increase the native tree population at Chatfield.

With the help of four volunteers from the Garden Club of Denver, we were introduced to the amazing open space and gardens here in Southwest Denver.

We dove into our service project, learning about how cottonwood trees are a pillar of Western riparian habitats and their adaptable ability to grow into a full tree from each young branch or “whip.” Armed with giant clippers and our new knowledge, we set out to cut 36 whips from trees along the drainage creek running through Chatfield.

We then planted these whips in plastic sleeves to set roots, which makes for stronger tree starts when they are planted in the ground later on.  With our whips safely started, watered and set aside, the group turned toward further exploration of Chatfield and some good times playing outside and connecting to the outdoors.

This day was a huge success and we were able to contribute a combined 38 hours of service for the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield and plant 36 cottonwood tree whips to be planted on site at a later date. To check out a slide show from our trip, Click Here. A special thanks goes out to the hard working students at West Denver Preparatory Charter School who sacrificed their Saturday to help out, the Garden Club of Denver, and the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield for making this experience possible.