Airmen celebrate Earth Day, cleanup in many ways Published April 17, 2012 By Staff Reports 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- As millions of people around the world observe Earth Day April 22 this year, the Air Force is challenging every member of the Air Force family to do his or her part to conserve natural resources, minimize waste and prevent pollution. "I challenge all Airmen to think about pollution prevention in new ways," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff. "We all need to understand that we can make a difference in managing waste so we can find cleaner, more cost effective ways of accomplishing our mission." The 52nd Civil Engineer Squadron is partnering with other base organizations and the local community to enhance sustainability of the base and local area by hosting several events on and off base to include: · An adopt a highway event April 20. · Tree planting 3 p.m. April 23 at the youth center. · An environmental workshop at Spangdahlem Middle School April 26. · The annual German-American Stream cleanup April 28. "Civil engineers are building sustainable installations every day," said Maj. Gen. Timothy Byers, the Air Force civil engineer. "We are focusing on being smarter, faster, better and cheaper; we are reducing waste, conserving energy, and building leaner, more sustainable facilities because we know these efforts not only support the environment, but also save money and improve our mission capabilities." The adopt a highway event is the first ever the base is hosting. It involves approximately 60 base members cleaning up roads surrounding the base mainly along the L-46 and parts of the B-50. "The immediate goal of this program is to improve our relationship with the towns surrounding Spangdahlem AB by being good custodians of our surrounding area," said Tech. Sgt. Damon Weigl, 52nd CES structural craftsman and adopt a highway coordinator. He said the long-term goal is to solidify the community and wing relationship by turning this into a program squadrons or organizations would want to take on, much like the annual German-American Stream cleanup held April 28. The stream cleanup is a partnership event where base members volunteer to help the Spangdahlem Youth Volunteer Fire Department and community members clean the stream running through Spangdahlem and pickup debris. "The surrounding communities are our neighbors," Weigl said. "This is their country, and this is our way of saying we respect it." To help emphasize the importance of individual efforts, the Air Force is promoting a "Blue Acts of Green" social media page. Spangdahlem Airmen and their families may visit the site at http://www.facebook.com/blueactsofgreen to commit to perform an act of "green" at home or work to benefit the environment and prevent pollution. "We must make a habit of being green, making the most of all the resources we use and looking for opportunities to conserve today for a secure tomorrow," said Erin Conaton, undersecretary of the Air Force and the Air Force senior sustainability officer. For information on the highway cleanup or to checkout cleanup gear, call Eifel Pride at DSN 452-1958 or 06565-61-1958. To volunteer for the stream cleanup, call DSN 452-7257 or 06565-61-7257.