Lakewood gets ‘Down to Earth’ on sustainability

Folks stroll the Earth Day Expo booths at Lakewood City Commons Wednesday.

LAKEWOOD – Green government cropped up at City Commons Wednesday in the first city-sponsored Earth Day “Down to Earth” Expo.

The city, Mayor Bob Murphy said, has been implementing sustainability for years and soon will hire a sustainability coordinator.

“The City of Lakewood is absolutely committed to sustainability on many different levels,” Murphy said. “We have been doing many things, some of them quietly, for many years whether it’s the fuels that we use in our fleet, whether it’s the xeriscaping we do in our parks and within our medians, whether its some of the standards we have for development, the list goes on and on and on.”

Dozens of folks strolled around the commons area, listening to music and stopping at kiosks staffed by the Division of Wildlife, the city, West Metro Fire Rescue District, Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado Open Lands, Red Rocks Community College, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bear Creek Watershed Association, the Regional Air Quality Council and a number of private businesses.

Wednesday’s four-hour Expo was one of a number of events planned around the city during Earth Week.

The week’s first event – a volunteers’ working day Bear Creek Park – was scrapped because of the heavy snow that blanketed the park, but has been rescheduled for May 16. Plans call for crews to fan out around the 2,600-acre park, building trails restoring wildlife habitat, planting trees and flowers and clean up trash and debris.

To volunteer, visit www.volunteeroutdoors.net.

Also Wednesday, the city’s Urban Parks Division handed out tree seedlings and packets of wildflower seeds at Whole Foods in Belmar. The store donated 5 percent of its Earth Day sales to help replace the playground at Belmar Park.

Thursday, the Rooney Road Recycling Center, 151 S. Rooney Road, will open for tours at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.

A Friday “birding expedition” at Belmar Park, Earth Week’s last city-planned event, required advance reservations.