The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin back in 1970. It continues today with over 5,000 environmental groups in over 184 countries globally. Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin was proud to be a part of this movement with Baird on April 22, 2018.
Baird hosted over 25 different exhibitors for the event. They ranged from organizations, businesses, park systems, river clean-up projects, community gardens, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources(DNR) and many more. There was definitely something for everyone at the event. The event had attendees from not only the office parks in downtown Milwaukee but the community as whole. There had to be over 2,000 people that went through during the duration of the event. The goal was to educate everyone on the importance of Earth Day.
In talking with the Wisconsin DNR representatives I learned that Wisconsin has more than 12,600 rivers and streams that meander their way through 84,000 miles of varying terrain. About 32,000 miles of these streams perennially run, or continuously throughout the year; the remainder flow intermittently during spring and other high-water times. There are also nearly 2,700 trout streams in Wisconsin; put end to end, they would stretch more than 10,370 miles. These streams have over 100 different types of warm water fish. This is a resource that we need to protect for not only our children but for our grandchildren and their grandchildren as well.
Goodwill had a booth at the event to talk about ways to help reduce, reuse and recycle in today’s business climate. Electronic waste is a growing issue for many companies. With the rapid pace of technology, the life cycle of these electronic components is getting shorter and shorter, creating more e-waste than ever before. Brand protection is one of the biggest concerns organizations have when they partner with companies to dispose of e-waste. Businesses are also concerned about environment stewardship and making sure that their e-cycling partners support those efforts. That's where Goodwill E-cycle can help. Understanding these needs, we have a dedicated team that is here to help you formulate a responsible disposal plan for current and future e-waste. Goodwill has been recycling and repurposing since our inception over 100 years ago. By choosing Goodwill E-cycle to work on your e-cycling needs, you get the added benefit of supporting Goodwill's mission, which provides training and jobs to people in your community.
Earth Day has reached an unprecedented level of support. Over one billion people participated in some type of activity for Earth Day in 2018. The fight for a clean environment continues today and Goodwill was proud to be part of the Baird Earth Day event.
It really was an honor to be part of this event just to see the Milwaukee community as a whole come together to promote Earth Day!
