During Plastic Free July, the Coulee Region Sierra Club and other local organizations are hosting an online screening of The Story of Plastic, an Emmy Award-winning documentary by The Story of Stuff Project.
CRSC screened this film when it first came out in 2019, but the issue is still with us and the Sierra Club and several other national environmental groups have specific plastic initiatives as the industry promises big increases in plastic production in coming years.
Sign up at the link for access to the film on Vimeo and to the local film discussion on Tuesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. tinyurl.com/CRSCPlasticFilm
APPLY BY AUGUST 1 for the $300 CRSC Environmental Stewardship Award for high school students. Learn more: tinyurl.com/CRSC-Students
The annual Black River Family Canoe Camp will be held July 16-17! This kid-focused trip on the Black River brings young families, adults with kids, and the young at heart together to play, explore, hike, cook out, and sleep in tents on a sand bar. Preregistration and screening are required. Participants must provide all their own water craft and gear, food, clothing, drinking water, etc. Learn more about it and how to register at tinyurl.com/2022-BRFamCanoe
Plastic Free July Ideas How can YOU make a difference during Plastic Free July? Here are some suggestions from My Plastic Free Life (myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide)
Carry and give out reusable shopping bags. Bonus points if they are made from already used fabric like old t-shirts!
Give up bottled water and other beverages sold in plastic containers. Give friends steel water bottles. Ask others to stop using and vending plastic bottles.
Carry your own reusable foodware for potlucks and dining out. Give homemade picnic kits as gifts. Ask event organizers and restaurants to use reusables.
Look for alternatives for food wrapped in plastic. Make and bring your own meals. Prefer unwrapped vegetables. Shop at farmers’ markets for unwrapped foods.
Give up frozen meals. Almost all are wrapped in plastic.
Return plastic berry, tomato, and fruit containers to the vendors to be reused.
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Next month, we will highlight La Crosse’s Juneteenth event and how planners and organizers worked to incorporate sustainable, reduced plastic policies and practices.
MORE JULY EVENTS
July 2: Meet Me on the Bluff with Park Naturalist. 9 a.m. Perrot State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59836
July 2: Deep Time Hike - Geology of the Driftless. 10 a.m. Wildcat Mountain State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57756
July 2: Wildlife in Your Backyard. 7 p.m. Perrot State Park dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59846
July 3: How Animals Communicate. 10 a.m. Perrot State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59851
July 4: Mitchel Red Cloud Pow-Wow. Black River Falls. tinyurl.com/BRFPowWow
July 9: Storyteller Terry Visger. 7 p.m. Wildcat Mountain State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57761
July 9, 16: Friends of the Black River paddling events tinyurl.com/frndsobrpaddling
July 14: Habitat Restoration at Cassville Bluffs. 10 a.m. tinyurl.com/MVC-071422
July 16: Guided Tour of La Crosse Blufflands. 10 a.m. Cty FA. mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events
July 19: Prairie Wildflower Hike 6:30 a.m. Black River Falls area. tinyurl.com/fobr-hiking
July 22: Night Sky Viewing with La Crosse Astronomical Society at Wildcat Mountain State Park. www.lcaas.org
July 23: Moth Mania with Ted Wilson, Viterbo University. 7 to 9 p.m. on Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration land on St. Joseph Ridge. strive2thrivecr.org/event/nocturnal-pollinators-insects-moths
July 22: Night Sky Viewing with La Crosse Astronomical Society at Perrot State Park. www.lcaas.org
July 24: Bugs in the Garden with Nick Nichols. 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. WisCorps Garden at Myrick Park. strive2thrivecr.org/event/bugs-in-the-garden
July 30: Habitat Restoration at Boscobel Bluffs. 9:30 a.m. mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events
