Earth Day clean up of Snee Oosh beach

La Conner’s Kelly Harper has Friday circled on her calendar.

She hopes others do, too.

It is, after all, a day when everyone can make a world of difference, said Harper, who coordinates local Earth Day activities every April 22.

This year, the 52nd anniversary of the first Earth Day observance, is no exception. Harper will lead a Snee-Oosh beach clean-up at 5 p.m.

It’s the kind of positive action that can be done any time to great effect, she stressed.

“We’re hoping to get the word out to the community that every day is Earth Day, not just April 22,” Harper told the Weekly News.

She will provide bags and gloves for those joining the 2022 Snee-Oosh “task force.”

“We’ll meet at the parking lot and disperse from there,” she said.

Last year, Harper led a group of volunteers on a clean-up of the shoreline and road area between Conner Waterfront Park and McGlinn Island. That outing included a brief hike of the popular wooded McGlinn trails.

The first Earth Day was organized April 22, 1970. Since then, it has annually served as an opportunity for the public to sustain natural processes and support emerging green technologies and innovative thinking designed to restore the world’s ecosystems.

Harper and her volunteers have an impact by keeping things simple and fun. And effective.

A year ago, on the McGlinn Road clean-up, the group not only filled bags with debris but also enjoyed the forest hike and water views afterward.

The 2022 Earth Day theme is “Invest in Our Planet.” For Harper, that investment is measured in time and energy. The dividends, both immediate and fulfilling, are shared by the entire community.