Earth Day, held on April 22, aims to shine a light on the environment and the steps we can take to protect it. Did you know:
- April 22 was originally chosen to coincide with college students’ schedules, between spring break and final exams.
- Earth Day is now celebrated by more than 180 countries and 5,000 environmental agencies.
- The event is known internationally as International Mother Earth Day.
- More than one billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.
While we’d all love to be able to do our part on April 22 to help the environment, sometimes our schedules don’t line up. That’s why LaGrange County REMC offers a way for our members to help year-round through our EnviroWatts program. For $5 a month, you can contribute to positively impacting our local environment and community.
Members who participate in the program pay an additional one cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for their first 500 kWh, guaranteeing the number of kWh to be generated from environmentally friendly alternative energy sources.
That premium is then placed in a fund that is used to provide grants to nonprofit groups’ environmentally friendly projects in LaGrange County.
In past years, LaGrange County Parks and Recreation used EnviroWatts grant funding to plant oak trees in a prairie at Delt Church Park, located between Topeka and Wolcottville, restoring the area to its pre-settlement landscape. The park also used EnviroWatts grant funding to continue eradicating invasive species in its quest to bring back the park’s native beauty.
Members who contributed to the EnviroWatts program should be proud of the project their dollars made possible. We are proud here at LaGrange County REMC.
Mark your calendars to sign up for EnviroWatts this Earth Day by visiting lagrangeremc.com/envirowatts or by calling the office at 877-463-7165.
Non-profit, service organizations that would like to apply for funding for environmentally friendly projects that benefit LaGrange County can find the application at lagrangeremc.com/envirowatts.