Students in Ellensburg can’t exactly stop deforestation or bring pollution to zero. But, there are plenty of ways to help Mother Earth like Captain Planet, this Earth Week.

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE) is partnering once again with Central’s Environmental club to put on four different projects that will allow students to volunteer their time to go out and lend a hand for their city.

“It is important for us to give back because personally I like having clear water to drink and fresh air to breathe. We take these things for granted and not everyone has that luxury,” said Hazel Tickner, president of the Environmental Club.

Tickner has participated for the last three years during the Earth Week festivities. This year she is helping to lead the Yakima River Cleanup and joining all of the programs she can.

First up on the schedule is the 43rd Yakima River Cleanup on April 16. This is the biggest event of the week with around 300 people signed up to help which is nearly double what they had last year. Kim Jellison, program manager for CLCE, said that this project has experienced enormous growth and not only with their volunteer numbers.

“We don’t just go down the Yakima River anymore, we go to the surrounding Kittitas County,” said Jellison.

Volunteers, including members of Central alumni, the Central football team, the Ellensburg community and various Central clubs, will be split into teams and sent to six different locations for various jobs. These teams will be assigned tasks like repainting signs, maintaining trails and buildings, and picking up litter, to name a few.

Kendyl Hardy senior, public relations major, will be helping lead the teams.

“Event planning and volunteer work are enjoyable activities of mine. Working on such a big project like Yakima River Cleanup allows me to put my skills to the test,” Hardy said.

Up next on April 22 is ElemenTree, where volunteers will head to Olmstead Place State Park. According to Jellison, the CLCE will be partnering with a local community member to teach fifth graders from Mount Stuart Elementary School all about the history of the farm.

To show the difference between technology then and now, there will be a working draft horse. The students will also be participating in trail walks and talks about the stream environment and how to protect it, a “Recycle Race,” and a homemade recyclable bird feeder project.

“It is crucial for new generations to learn respect and healthy relations with nature and our planet,” said James King, senior anthropology major and member of the Environment Club. “The next few generations to come are projected to be the first to experience some of the worst impacts of climate change, and so working to instill the values and knowledge necessary to counter some of these issues is a necessity.”

Continuing on through the week is the Olmstead Spring Cleanup on April 23. For this project, CLCE will be partnering with the Heritage Club who run the park. Along with working in the large garden, they will be working on another very important job that must be done and “sprucing up” the park.

“They just last year restored the cabin that is on the property, it needed a new roof so they had to take out all of the artifacts out of that cabin. So we are going to help them put them all back in,” Jellison said.

Earth Week concludes on April 30 with the Downtown Cleanup, which is put on by the City of Ellensburg. Volunteers will be put to work sweeping up the streets and sidewalks, weeding the flower beds and picking up litter.

Along with the CLCE’s scheduled projects, the Environmental Club will be hosting discussions and showing documentaries from April 19–21. For those who want to show their creative side, the club will also be hosting a plant pot decorating party on Earth Day April 22 on the SURC West Patio.

To register for earth week activities go to the CLCE office, SURC 256.