Covid 19 Spring, Our Health, Our Environment

For most, this time of covid-19 is scary.  Many of us are now working from home; grocery store trips have become a major outing into the world; and we are trying to find a new normal.   For the Earth and environment, this reprieve has been a revival of wildlife. In Paris, people are noticing the sounds of birds; waterways in Venice are cleaner and clearer;  in India, people can once again see the snow peaked Himalaya mountains in the distance, and in China, people can view the stars. 

​It demonstrates the powerful way in which nature can quickly rebound when humans slow down.

By Claudia Schuchardt- Peet

Spring has sprung in south central Pennsylvania and with that, time to observe the new growth and beauty which exists all around us, especially in the Mercersburg area. While Governor Wolf recommends, we all stay at home and limit traveling to that deemed as “essential”,  essential does include outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, or running…if we maintain our distance.   With that in mind, consider how you and your family can enjoy the Spring!
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Glimpsing  snow capped Himalayans from Punjab

Yesterday, I decided to go to the grocery store on my bicycle.  Lack of traffic made my trip both easy and safe.  The absent particle haze from interstate 81, has also left our valley with much clearer skies.  The air feels fresher and reinvigorating!  Consider how a healthy environment can impact your life for the better.  Take this opportunity to slow down and:

• Explore the new Johnsons Run Stream Side  Trail
• Take a family bike ride down some of the side roads and notice whether you see a difference in the environment
• Find the things that you enjoy doing as a family…things you may not have had time to do during your hectic schedule
• Keep in touch with those you know live alone
• Make a list of the things that are wonderful about the stay at home order and find ways you plan to incorporate them into your life when everything starts opening up again
• Find or create a new, healthy recipe to make at home
• Have a pick-up trash day and consider ways in which you can eliminate plastic from your life!

Picking up trash is a great way to help ensure we are keeping both the trail and waterway clean. Everything from soda bottles, grocery bags, coffee cups, and yes, even polyester clothing, which enters the waterway or environment will turn into microplastics.  Microplastics are derived from these larger pieces of from larger pieces of plastic trash.  By cleaning out our small portion of the environment we could potentially save birds, fish, and continue to build a healthier ecosystem in Mercersburg and those communities downstream.

Some facts about Microplastics:

• Microplastics slowly leach chemicals into the environment. Plastics from streams and rivers generate 190 Tons of chemical additives which are released annually into the ocean.
• Today 60% of seabirds and 100% of fish, have ingested plastic.
• Microplastics are sticky and not only pick up and leach chemicals yet can also pick up diseases. 

To learn more about microplastics, read the report below.
 https://www.chesapeake.org/stac/document-library/microplastics-in-the-chesapeake-bay-and-its-watershed-state-of-the-knowledge-data-gaps-and-relationship-to-management-goals/

A sample of micro plastics in the Chesapeake Bay

Photo courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Program

Bottom line…a healthy environment and life, begins with each of us!  So go out and enjoy the Spring.  Delight in the vibrant greens and other colors which abound in nature, and stay safe and healthy.