Daily Sitka Sentinel

COVID or Not, Sitka Celebrates Earth Week

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer

In honor of Earth Day, Sitka Conservation Society and the Sitka 4-H program will host an online Party of the Species Friday, to cap off weeks of celebrating the wildlife of the Tongass.

The event begins at 1 p.m. and will run between one and two hours.

But SCS and 4-H aren’t the only Sitka organizations with plans for Earth Day. The Sitka Sound Science Center announced a clean-up challenge which begins today and runs through Monday, April 27. And the U.S. Forest Service Ranger District and Sitka Tribe of Alaska celebrated Earth Day today with their annual Earth Day Tlingit potato planting.

The Conservation Society’s Party of the Species “is meant to appreciate plants and animals locally and globally in recognition of Earth Day,” SCS Community Sustainability Organizer Emily Pound said. She also works as the 4-H and community organizer.

For the past 19 years, Sitka Conservation Society and 4-H have held the Party of the Species as a parade down Lincoln Street, but the current pandemic forced the celebration to go online.

“It’s for all ages, so we’ve invited community partners and hope that all attend,” Pound said.

Events will range from the costume showcase to a dance party with the music chosen by the kids.

The global lockdown and social distancing have made it difficult, but not impossible, for 4-H to continue their youth programming.

Friday’s Party of the Species will be the capstone to weeks of Creature Feature events, each one focused on a different animal of the Tongass. Featured creatures this year have included a peregrine falcon from the Alaska Raptor Center, and Pearl, the Sitka Sound Science Center’s giant Pacific octopus. 

In their press release, Conservation Society members said they hoped that the Party of the Species would serve as a “coming together to celebrate creatures that rely on the Tongass.”

Pound said that the online nature of these events has come with both challenges and advantages.

“It’s all on Zoom conference calls. I think it has been a challenge to get maximized participation and get kids engaged. It’s also been really interesting – it’s kind of opened up opportunities for us to connect with partners,” she said.

There will also be prizes from the Conservation Society, Science Center, and Old Harbor Books.

To register for the Zoom teleconference meeting, email Emily Pound at emily@sitkawild.org. The event is free and open to all.

The Science Center cleanup challenge is aimed at promoting trash pickup and the benefits of spending time outdoors.

“We aren’t looking for you to clean up hundreds of pounds of trash, but if you’re going for a hike or spending time outside, take a small bag with you and pick up any litter you see,” said Science Center Research Coordinator Callie Simmons. “We look forward to seeing you all work together while apart to keep our Earth clean!” 

Science Center Education Coordinator Kristina Tirman also spoke.

“Typically at this time of year we have a pretty large cleanup, called the coastal code cleanup,” she said.  “We still wanted to do something. The goal is to get people out to clean up their local area and still celebrate Earth Day even though we can’t do it together.”

Cleanup volunteers are invited to post photos on Facebook or Instagram, tagging the Science Center and using the hashtag #SSSCcleanupchallenge2020 to be eligible for a prize drawing on Monday. The prize will be one of the eco-alternative items from the Science Center gift shop.

“The hope is that seeing this (event) will encourage people to bring a bag with them and gloves and pick up trash,” Tirman said.