Earth Day celebration returns downtown April 20: Representatives on hand with information about new Green Home Registry

by Judy Stringer

The annual Earth Day event will be held in downtown Hudson this year.

The city, in partnership with Hudson’s Environmental Awareness Committee, will host the event on the Gazebo and Clocktower greens, on Saturday, April 20, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Emily Fernandez, community project planner with the city of Hudson, said there will be a variety of family-friendly activities, guest giveaways and a live DJ, in addition to booths where organizations and vendors will have information about sustainability, green technologies and programs in the area.

“We will also have an [elective electric] showcase,” said Joseph Ortiz, chair of the Hudson EAC. “We have invited folks who have EVs and plug-in hybrids to bring their vehicles down so that they can help educate the public about the advantages of driving electric.”

Akron Metro will join this year’s EV showcase with a 45-foot electric bus, and the city will demonstrate one of its hybrid police cruisers. Other features of the event include an electronic-waste collection truck and onsite document shredding by Rubber City Reuse. The Akron company composts the paper scraps rather than recycling them, according to Fernandez.

For the last several years, the Earth Day Celebration was held in the parking lot of City Hall off Terex Road. Organizers expect to a draw bigger crowd with the move back to the central greens, where a former “Green on the Green” event had been held annually in September.

“One of the advantages of moving back to the Green is that people can enjoy downtown. They can grab lunch before or after the event in one of the many local restaurants,” Ortiz said. “And we figure that we’ll also get more foot traffic from people who are just milling around downtown during the day.”

Fernandez said the Hudson Library and Historical Society is organizing some of this year’s children and teen activities, “which will really help us amp up the caliber of those activities.”

What’s more, an Earth Day “plog” (litter pickup) will begin one hour before the event begins. Plog participants will meet on the Clocktower Green at 10 a.m. and will be provided with bags and gloves. With questions about the plog, contact Go@GoGreenGo.org.

All of the activities are free, except a rain barrel workshop, which requires pre-registration and payment. Full details are at hudson.oh.us/earthweek.

Green Certification Registry

Also at the event, residents can talk directly to the city and EAC representatives about Hudson’s new Green Home Certification Registry. The registry, launched earlier this year, is meant to encourage homeowners to take steps to make their homes more energy efficient, according to Ortiz.

To get on the registry, homeowners must choose one of five qualifying third-party programs (listed on the city website) and earn a certificate based on implementing energy efficiency features, such as improving weather stripping, putting in new windows, installing a heat pump or replacing old appliances with Energy Star-rated ones.

“One of the purposes of establishing this program on the city website is to really help to educate the public that there’s an opportunity for financial payback from making sustainable investments,” Fernandez said. “So, the city is not directly evaluating and certifying whether or not residents have made these improvements. Our role is more so to push this information out.”

Ortiz added that homeowners save money with these efficiency measures by spending less on gas and electricity. He saw an 85% drop in gas usage this winter after installing a heat pump. In addition, Ortiz said, studies have shown that certified-green homes sell for 2-3% over their non-certified counterparts.

He recommends to anyone who’s on the fence about environmentally friendly upgrades to do so sooner rather than later given the availability of current tax credits.

“And the longer you are in your home after making these upgrades, the more time you have to accrue the savings,” he said. ∞