VIBRANT LANDSCAPES
The Pacific Northwest is blessed with incredible landscapes. Scoured by glaciers and rushing water, we live in a remarkable area. People come from all over the world to see our wonders. How we live on the land directly impacts the quality of the water we drink and the air we breathe. For example, water that falls as rain rushes across the land, carrying with it fertilizers, pesticides and other wastes, transporting it to creeks and rivers, degrading its quality. For too long, we have taken for granted the interconnections among land, air and water, treating our water and air like receptacles for the waste we generate on the land. We can do better, first by learning about these interconnections and then rethinking how we live on our land. Come join our efforts to pay forward a future where we live and work sustainably with our rich landscapes.
Going Native. As development spread from the cities, people yearned for more natural, "softer" landscapes. Departing from the asphalt, concrete and steel urban areas, developers soon created new landscapes, razing large forested areas and replacing the native plants and grasses with ornamentals and manicured lawns. Between 2001 and 2022, the state of Washington lost nearly 4.7 million acres of forested area. These trees serve as giant air exchangers, taking up carbon dioxide emissions from cars and power plants and exchanging it with oxygen. Trees also help slow the flow of water on the landscape, attenuating the transport of pollution on the ground surface. How do we replace this loss of function? We can start with replanting native trees and plants. Native species provide many benefits including requiring less water than lawns, require no fertilizer and less pesticide applications, have a higher survival rate than non-native plants, and they even suppress weeds and self-seed. "Going native" can be a good thing ... please join us in our efforts to grow a new future!
Planning for Our Future. Washington's Growth Management Act (GMA) was passed with the intent of balancing projected population increases in cities and municipalities with available land across the state to sustain these growing population demands. There are 15 statutory goals a community must follow and attempt to balance in building a plan. Urban growth, sprawl reduction, natural environment, climate (reducing greenhouse gases) and transportation are among the key named statutory areas where we should question if our growth is going the way we want it to go, and whether it is compatible with a sustainable future. Each aspect of the Comprehensive Plan for the City of Camas is important, but perhaps most important is the public participation component. The last comprehensive plan was published in June of 2016 and Camas has formed a community advisory committee to help envision how Camas (both downtown and within the City limits) will develop and grow out to the year 2045. We encourage you to reach out to committee members in your ward to voice your concerns about how this growth should happen.
ACT LOCALLY
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Example 1. Let's get busy planting native species and removing invasives.
We recognize the rapid decline of species like plants, birds and insects like bees that literally give us life as well as beauty. There is much we can do as individuals and groups. We are supporters of initiatives like Homegrown National Park, where even the smallest individual action means important benefits to our lives and ecosystems. And it's not just about planting natives. We want to remove the invasives that are choking out habitat for native plants. We are supporters of “hands on” projects that both create solutions, and show examples of what we can do working together.
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Example 2. Camas Downtown Planning
What do you want our downtown to be in the next 20 years? What features should we accentuate? What should we change? At the heart of our downtown with riverfront access, perhaps a more sensitive topic is what can be done to produce the best outcomes for the remediation of the GP Mill? These are valid questions being asked by the Camas Earth Day Society and we recently developed a forward looking alternative to the redevelopment of the GP Mill property which includes an important zoning overlay. Key to this initiative is having the Mill remediated to unrestricted use. To learn more, click here. Stay tuned for future Our Camas 2045 planning activities hosted by the City of Camas.
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Example 3. Learn more about Native American land stewardship
We can learn so much from our Native American communities about how to live with the land and be much more responsible stewards of the land. Their deep attachment to the Earth is undeniably important and cherishes this precious resource as a living being. This interactive map allows the viewer to enter a city in the search bar to see which indigenous communities live there today or lived there in the past. The non profit hosting this service, Native Land Digital aims to educate non-indigenous people about the sacred value of the land. In their words, "...the land is not something to be exploited and "owned", but something to be honoured and treasured." We can embrace many of these principles in our own stewardship.
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I WANT IN ON THE ACTION
Are you looking for a way to join the cause of Making Every Day Earth Day? Click here
Are you looking for a way to join the cause of Making Every Day Earth Day? Click here