Gainesville and the rest of the world will celebrate Mother Earth Thursday for Earth Day’s 40th anniversary by gathering their shovels and gloves and getting down to business.
About 50 to 100 Alachua County employees will clean Sweetwater Branch Creek, where part of the city’s drinking water comes from, Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gainesville will partner with Florida Organic Growers, an organization that provides vegetable gardens to about 200 sites in the county for residents with low incomes, to grow a gift garden at the Thelma Boltin Senior Activity Center, a downtown city facility that serves low-income retirees.
“The food grown in the garden will add to the meals they are already getting, so they can have fresher and more nutritious food available to them,” said Christine Hale, Florida Organic Growers’ education and outreach program director.
Bob Woods, city of Gainesville spokesman, stressed the importance of celebrating Mother Earth not just on Earth Day.
“Earth Day is one day out of the year to call awareness to sustainability,” Woods said. “For the city of Gainesville, every day is Earth Day.”
