To celebrate Earth Day, Beaver Creek Reserve is challenging the local community to participate in a week-long event that encourages both sustainability and environmentally friendly practices. 

This annual event will take place from Saturday, April 17 through Sunday, April 25. Team registration will open before the event on Wednesday, April 14 and remain open until the last day of the challenge. 

When signing up, a team can consist of up to five members. Teams should come up with a team captain and team name before starting the challenges. 

BCR encourages groups to register with others who are within the same household or with those who occupy single living areas to respect social distancing and other COVID-19 procedures.

To register a team and to find more information go to the BCR event page here on April 14.

Erik Keisler, executive director at BCR, said each year he is amazed at what’s accomplished and can’t wait to continue watching people in the community support Earth Week to continue moving towards sustainability and helping the environment. 

 “Earth Week Challenge is an amazing opportunity for people of the Chippewa Valley to come together and work to make their lives and their communities a litter greener while having fun and earning prizes.”

How does the Earth Week Challenge work?

On Friday, April 16 a task list will be posted for teams to start looking at the different challenges they can complete. Depending on what the task is, teams will have the opportunity to earn one, three, five or ten points based on difficulty levels.

A few examples of tasks include turning lights off when leaving a room (one point), creating something from used materials (three points) or walking/biking to go somewhere (five points). 

While completing the task, a photo should be taken while members are actively participating. 

Due to COVID-19, not all members need to be included in the photo to maintain safety. Once completed, teams have until 4 p.m. on Monday, April 26 to submit their photos.

All media files should be submitted on the BCR event website. For any questions in regards to photos and the contest, teams should email [email protected]. 

“By participating in this challenge, all team members agree that Beaver Creek Reserve has the right to share photos via social meeting and for other marketing efforts related to the Earth Week Challenge,” Beaver Creek Reserve said.

Throughout the week, teams should not only take photos but also keep track of their points. 

Once the week is over, points are collected and teams are entered into different prize drawings. More information will be released from BCR in regards to prize details closer to the event. 

Prizes must be claimed and picked up at the BCR site and winners will be notified before the official winners’ announcement.

“The best part is, it’s completely free to sign up. Also, who doesn’t love winning sweet prizes?” Kristen Giefer, an outreach and development coordinator, said.

She also said there is no better time than now to go green and improve our local environment as those who participate and partner with BCR work toward saving the planet. 

For more information on the Earth Week Challenge visits its website, which goes live April 1.

Additional prizes for UW-Eau Claire Students

This year, BCR is partnering with UW-Eau Claire through the Student Office of Sustainability to gather additional prizes exclusively for participating students. 

“As for student involvement, they will be able to earn prizes for the points they accrue.” Austen Fairbanks, a fourth-year environmental geology student, said. “There will be an extra prize pot just for UW-Eau Claire students, as well as, the general Beaver Creek Reserve Prizes.” 

Student teams should register through the BRC event website and make sure to indicate that they are students attending UW-Eau Claire to be eligible for the additional prize pot. 

Huettner can be contacted at [email protected].