Earth Day has been celebrated globally every April 22 since 1970.
On this day it’s important to remind us of ways on how everyday we can help improve the environment and appreciate natural resources such as water, oxygen, parks, trees and beaches that Mother Nature has given us.
This year Delta will be participating in the Earth Day celebration at Victory Park. The Horticulture and Woodworking clubs will have tables at the community Earth Day celebration at Victory Park on Sunday April 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There are local aspects to think of when it comes to Earth Day.
Climate change is very important in Stockton because we are located in the bottom of the valley so hard storms can cause big floods in the community, or get hit with big heat waves in the summer.
Since the beginning of the year Stockton has faced a lot of rain which causes major flooding in certain areas.
However, one way we can help with the floods is keeping the environment clean.
For example, not littering in the streets will be very helpful because trash in the streets can block the sewer for the water to go down when having these big storms/rain.
Recycling is one way to keep out trash from the streets.
According to irecyclesmart.com these are a few items you can recycle: glass and plastic bottles, containers, cardboard boxes, aluminum beverage cans, household containers, paper, cans, and containers.
Items like this can get you money back when recycling them too.
Delta has worked to be a good partner to the Earth, Breitler said.
One of the things that Delta has been doing is the waste food program. The kitchen, Culinary Arts, and Child Development Center take food scraps and separate them out from the rest of the trash so that they don’t go to landfills so this is a way to reduce the amount of waste being sent to landfills.
Delta also donates old furniture stuff to agencies or to schools.
The Information Technology department deals with a lot of older equipment like computers so the area makes sure old equipment is recycled properly.
A new scheduling system implemented in 2019 also ensures HVAC is only used for specific rooms or during specific times happenings are scheduled.
“We have a lot of buildings so during seasons like winter and December, turning it on can take a lot of energy which can cause climate change. We have a new program in which rooms are being used for different events for different buildings. We don’t have to cool down the entire building, we can cool down that part of the building so we save energy,” said Breitler.
This implementation not only brings environmental benefits with saving more energy but also helps the school budget better and save money too.
Breitler also noted that students who are riding the RTD buses are also helping with the environment. Delta students still can ride the bus for free in all the RTD areas.