Pitch in and make Earth Day a family affair

This weekend, on a remote and windswept Washington beach, a West Seattle family of three will be dislodging plastic drums from tree branches, untangling fishing line from driftwood and digging up knotted ropes from the sand. Joining with friends and strangers in what has become an annual Earth Day tradition, Jen Lightbody along with her husband and 3-year-old son, Drew, are veterans of the Olympic Coast Cleanup. Last year, 647 volunteers collected 37 tons of garbage by combing more than 100 miles of shoreline from Tokeland to Cape Flattery.

"The thing that really attracted us is the opportunity to get out of the city and remember this breathtakingly beautiful world we live in," said Jen Lightbody, who has been a part of the cleanup effort for the past five years. "It's as much about being helpful as it is seeing this stunning wonder where we live — and hanging out with friends is also really fun. Having it be a scheduled event forces us to plan for it."

The Earth Day beach cleanup has helped her family build a tradition of being in the outdoors and doing their part to help. "Hopefully Drew will continue it and add to a long tradition of celebrating Earth Day," Lightbody said.

In keeping with the motivation for the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, when 25 million United States citizens joined together in projects for a healthier world, this weekend people are still celebrating with simple acts of caring for the earth, whether they're stenciling storm drains, picking up roadside trash or counting birds.

"All that's required is that you care and are willing to put in a few hours," said Seattleite Jay Satz, vice president of programs for the Student Conservation Association (SCA).

"As a family, conservation is part of what we do, even when we're not working," said Satz, who met his wife, Meg, while working on a restoration project. His children, Rory, 10, and Lily, 3, have grown up being outside and consider work parties as routine as making their beds.

"If you start telling kids why this is important it doesn't work, but if it becomes just part of what you do as a family, it becomes part of their lives," he said. As his son gets older, Satz works to balance what he calls "the bleakness thing" — worries about the world's future.

The SCA teaches outdoor leadership to high-school students from diverse backgrounds through its Conservation Leadership Corps. These young leaders will host Seattle's largest Earth Day event Saturday at the Washington Park Arboretum. The public can get its hands dirty on trail projects, help remove invasive species and plant trees. Kids are welcome and can play environmental games organized by the group.

"The coolest thing about Earth Day is that it creates a sense of community," said Satz. "A sense of accomplishment creates a stronger bond among people. The reality is a lot of work gets done on that one day."

Living next to Seattle's Carkeek Park, Nancy Malmgren, of the Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project, found it natural to get involved in caring for the watershed in the 1970s.

"It's been a family affair ever since," said Malmgren, whose husband has been her best volunteer. Her three sons and a daughter have also participated in their mom's work from the original comprehensive park plan to an award-winning Environmental Learning Center. Featuring rooftop rainwater to flush the toilets, solar panels and recycled building materials, the center is the first building in Seattle registered to achieve the gold rating under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.

"We wouldn't have salmon, we wouldn't have Earth Day, we wouldn't have this building without Nancy's work," said Beth Miller, Carkeek interpretive specialist.

To Malmgren, it's a question of respect. "We've been going on the three R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We're adding a fourth R this year for respect. We want to help build on respect for yourself, your family and the environment," she said. "I'm not the kind of person who likes to wring my hands and bemoan what should be, so I feel better when at least we're doing something about our values."

Because of government cuts in spending for restoration and conservation efforts, Earth Day needs volunteers more than ever, backers stress. "It's important for people to know that no experience is necessary," said Jay Satz. "Groups are out there waiting for them to say, 'I just want to offer my two hands.' "

Kathryn True is a freelance writer living among the brambles and trees of Vashon Island. By foot, kayak and bicycle she explores the wilds of her own back yard, finding her muse in cedar waxwings, moonsnails and salmonberries. She is on the board of her local Audubon chapter and is co-author of "Nature in the City: Seattle" (The Mountaineers Books).

IF YOU GO

If you go

Where to help on Earth Day

Put on your work gloves and head out to one of these Earth Day events, or check your local neighborhood center or park for a project near you. Participation is free except as noted:

• The Student Conservation Association Earth Day Event, Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, projects for children and adults. Contact: Kristine Robson at 206-324-4649, ext. 29, krobson@thesca.org, www.thesca.org.

• Olympic Coast Cleanup, Saturday and Sunday. Contact: Jan Klippert, 206-364-2689, www.olympiccoastcleanup.us.

• People for Puget Sound, Duwamish Alive! Restoration work, Herrings House Park and other Seattle sites, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Contact: Robin Clark 206-382-7007, rclark@pugetsound.org, www.pugetsound.org.

• Seattle Audubon Family Birdathon, Graham Visitors Center, Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle, 9-11 a.m. Saturday. For all ages of beginning birders. $15 per person fundraiser for the Shade-Grown Coffee Campaign and the Green Forests Program. Contact: 206-523-4483, www.seattleaudubon.org.

• Carkeek Park/Pipers Creek 25th Annual Earth Day and Spring Clean Celebration, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Contact: 206-684-0877.

• Seattle Public Utilities volunteer programs: Seattle Creek Stewardship, see www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Drainage_&_Sewer/Get_Involved/index.asp.Adopt-a-Street and recycling programs:

www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Garbage/Reduce_Garbage_&_Litter/index.asp.

• Seattle Parks volunteer programs: www.seattle.gov/parks/volunteers/index.htm.