Bermuda’s environmental charities will band together on Friday to celebrate Earth Day – and have urged the public to do their part for the environment.

Greenrock, Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Bermuda National Trust and other groups said they will release a list of 13 different environmental actions that anyone can do on April 22 to help make a difference.

The charity has challenged the public to use reusable bags, collect trash, plant trees, go for a nature walk, use zero-emission vehicles like bicycles, reduce electricity consumption or go meatless.

Eugene Dean, chairman of Greenrock, said: “The Earth Day Challenge is an opportunity for everyone, regardless of age, to engage in some form of environmental action.”

He added: “I’m going to try to do all 13 of them, and I encourage everyone to do what they can.”

Other groups supporting the effort include the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, Beyond Plastics, the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and the Bermuda Environmental Sustainability Taskforce.

Mr Dean said that Earth Day was launched in 1970 and is considered to be the start of the environmental movement.

He said: “Industrialisation and the smell of air pollution was linked to progress, and people had little knowledge of the harmful impact of polluted environments.

“Earth Day was responsible for raising awareness.”

Twitter

As part of Earth Day, KBB will host clean-ups at 22 sites across the island with the assistance of eight corporate groups and 14 schools with 600 volunteers expected to take part.

Meanwhile Buy Back Bermuda – a collaboration between the Bermuda National Trust and the Bermuda Audubon Society – will formally open the Eve’s Pond Nature Reserve on North Shore in Hamilton Parish.

The property was purchased by the group eight years ago, and over the past two years the area has been cleared of invasive plants and the pond – previously filled in with sand from Flatts Inlet – has been restored.

Myles Darrell, the BNT head of natural heritage, said: “It’s an opportunity to learn more and engage with a beautiful space, made possible by the Buy Back Bermuda Team.”

He added that he was excited that Earth Day would bring people together and hoped it would help the public create positive habits that they can continue well beyond Friday.