In honor of Earth Day, the Sustainable Design Committee is pleased to present the entries for PARE’s 2nd annual Earth Day photo contest. As part of this year’s contest, PARE staff were encouraged to help Earthday.org reach a Billion Acts of Green. Each contestant registered their own “Act of Green” at https://www.earthday.org,  and submitted a photo to illustrate their pledge or green action for Earth Day 2012.

A company-wide vote will select the winner of a fantastic prize at the end of the day on Monday, April 23!

Photo #1: Feed Me, Seymour!

Photo #2: Garden Organically

“There is more to this organically grown lingonberry plant than meets the eye.  This little power house was selected for my garden because it promotes biodiversity and is suitable for my climate, meaning that it requires less watering, organic fertilizer and attention than other plants.”

Photo #3: Vegetable Garden

“I’m starting my own vegetable garden:  You can’t beat the benefits of picking fresh vegetables in your backyard.  Having a garden reduces packaging you bring into your home from vegetables bought at the store, may reduce trips to the grocery store saving gas, and allows you to eliminate pesticides and other chemicals sprayed onto your vegetables.”

Photo #4: River Protection

“Fishing and enjoying our nation’s rivers has always been special in my life, so as my Act of Green, I am pledging to support Trout Unlimited and their mission to “protect, restore, and conserve cold-water resources and the water sheds on which they depend.”

Photo #5: Reuse to Reduce

“My Act of Green for 2012 is reducing my use of products with disposable packaging.  Choosing reusable shopping bags and water bottles are small steps that can have a big impact on the amount of plastic entering our landfills and drifting into important ecosystems, such as this coastal pond in East Providence.”

Photo #6: First Flowers of Spring

“These are what I believe to be Blue Snowdrops, among the first flowers of spring.  I saw them as I was raking the garden and proceeded to stop raking and spend half an hour photographing.  They were quite small at the time (<1/2”). ”

Photo #7: Sink Positive in Action

“I have a Sink Positive faucet that sits on top of the water closet in a small second bathroom.  After flushing, clean water is dispensed from the facet rather than to the toilet bowl. The sink drains to the toilet bowl, which is then used for the next flush.  It saves water and makes for the perfect solution for a small bathroom.”

Photo #8: Clean Up on Boone Lake

“My Act of Green for 2012 will be collecting (and recycling as much as possible) all the bottles, litter and trash along the shoreline and roadways surrounding Boone Lake in Exeter, RI.”

PARE staff: Do not forget to e-mail your vote to Deb by 3:00 on Monday, April 23!