Hey Lansing! Just B the E

I saw this Tweet yesterday: @LCCTVthelink Give your mamma a big ‘ole hug and celebrate Mother Earth. Follow @earthdaylansing Learn more here: www.earthdaylansing.com

So I went. I clicked everything. There’s going to be cool events for Earth Day (April 22) here in Lansing (concerts, gallery walks, festivals) and it’s part of a bigger effort around the country. Hungry for more I reached out to Erin Slayter one of the coordinators of Earth Day Lansing, with her husband Ben.

Erin is the co-founder/owner of The Sweaty Mouse (@sweatymouse), a grant writing/fundraising firm here in Lansing. Now she’s turning her energy and skills to B the E campaign. “Be the E is a call to action that evokes Gandhi’s plea to ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’”

Here’s a Q&A with Erin about Earth Day Lansing and B the E.

Just B: Talk about EarthDayLansing and the global effort.

Erin: In conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, Earth Day New York is launching the E campaign which is being designed to give Earth Day a fresh face, draw new people into the environmental movement and inspire everyone to take positive action for the planet. April 22nd, 2010 marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and the challenges we face appear overwhelming. It seems an opportune time to promote a new symbol of hope and commitment. The E campaign creates the opportunity for individuals to speak out about what they are doing to take positive action for the Earth. E action can be manifested in many forms conserving energy, composting, planting a tree, consuming local/organic food, biking, recycling, installing solar panels, protesting environmental degradation, and/or saving rain forests.  Be the E is a call to action that evokes Gandhi’s plea to “be the change you want to see in the world.”   I am E is rooted in the notion that everything on Earth is dependent on everything else and that the Earth is one living organism.

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Just B: What is the local force behind EarthDayLansing?

Erin: In 2009, The Sweaty Mouse’s pro-bono project was implementing a GREEN team at Lansing JazzFest and Old Town BluesFest. After the festivals we received a lot of positive community feedback on the need for more public education on waste diversion, disposable water bottle reduction, and responsible energy consumption. These are all things that individuals can and should do on their own.  With that feedback we really wanted to do something bigger that would reach out and engage Lansing residents and visitors to the Capital City a inspired them to take action.  Although this is a project presented by The Sweaty Mouse, there is no singular driving force; this is truly a community-based event and there are many, many local organizations, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies and departments ALL putting their efforts together.