Tag: environment

Apr 15: Laura Gonzales on Rotary Projects

Dear Rotarians and Friends,

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, it’s the perfect time to re-energize our commitment to Rotary. There’s many opportunities coming up to get involved in community service, reach out to potential new members, or help lead the club in the 25–26 Rotary year. Here’s just a few coming up in the next few weeks.

Wednesday April 23, we’ll be cleaning up the PEEC Treehouse at 5:30 in preparation for their Earth Day Festival. Bring your work gloves, a rake, and let’s get it done! April 24-26 is the District 5520 Conference. You can still sign up if you want to see what’s going on around the district and help me start getting buy-in for the Navajo Water Project. Sunday May 4, we have our Pancake Breakfast at Sheriff’s Posse Lodge. We could use volunteers from 7 AM – 10 AM and 9 AM – 12 PM, but if you don’t have time for that, at least spread the word!

Today’s Speaker

District 5520 North Asst. Governor Laura Gonzales will speak about collaborative projects between District 5520 and District 4110. These initiatives, including recent wheelchair distributions in Juárez and Chihuahua, Mexico, exemplify Rotary’s commitment to service across borders.

Don’t Forget About Our April Contest!

We’re collecting plastic bottle caps to build benches. Bring your bottle caps on Tuesday April 29 to enter a drawing to win a prize!

What is ESRAG?

worms eyeview of green trees
Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Pexels.com

In accordance with Rotary International’s guidance for Action Groups, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group, ESRAG, gathers individuals, experts and partners whose goal is to provide awareness, dialogue, resources, and best practices for the environment. ESRAG, assists the Rotary family to plan, run, and evaluate projects, programs, and practices that support actions in the Environment Area of Focus and address the triple planetary crisis. 

April Is Earth Month

From https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-and-earth-day

Fifty years ago, the first Earth Day was held on 22 April, 1970, launching a wave of action to protect our environment, including the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States. Other countries soon followed suit. Every year since, the day has been set aside to focus on mobilizing for action to protect our planet.

As people of action, Rotarians have been shaping the conversation on the environment for years, from addressing climate change that threatens entire food systems to fighting pollution that clogs our air and water. Rotarians are well-suited for the challenge. They use their connections to find creative solutions and take action to safeguard our vital resources. 

The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) assists Rotary clubs, districts and multi-districts in building awareness, inspiring action, and planning service projects that focus on environmental sustainability, awareness of climate change, and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Don’t forget we’re having a friendly competition to see who can collect the most bottle caps for benches this month. Bring your caps for counting to the April 29 meeting.

No Speaker This Week

We are having a general assembly this week. Here’s a recording of last week’s meeting with County Emergency Manager Beverley Simpson in case you missed it.

Governor’s Project Delivers Wheelchairs To Chihuahua

This past weekend, Laura Gonzales joined other Rotarians from District 5520 and 4110 to deliver wheelchairs to people in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Apr 23: PEEC Treehouse Cleanup

Let’s clean up the treehouse on April 23 at 5:30 PM to make it look good for PEEC’s Earth Day Festival on April 26. Please brink work gloves, a rake, and trash bags.

Apr 24-26: District Conference

Registration is still open for the annual District Conference in El Paso, TX April 24-26. This year’s District Conference celebrates The Magic of Rotary—the power we have when we come together to serve, lead, and connect. Join in for a blend of Rotary updates, hands-on service, youth program showcases, and evening festivities.

May 4: Pancake Breakfast

May the Fourth be with you this year as we serve pancakes at the Sheriff’s Posse. The event starts at 6:00 AM and goes until 12:00 PM and we need people to cook, serve, bus tables, and promote the event. Contact Linda Bullock to sign up for volunteer duties.

May 17: Rotary Epic Day Of Service

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, more than 800 Rotary clubs and 30,000 Rotarians across the world will volunteer in their communities for an Epic Day of Service, collecting clothes for homeless, refurbishing parks, and more. Save the date and roll up your sleeves for a day dedicated to service, community, and connection.

Feb 25: Dropinski on Working Man’s Work in the Construction Industry

Greetings Rotarians and Friends,

Thank you to everyone who helped make this weekend’s Crab Fest such a tremendous success. From our dedicated Interact volunteers and generous sponsors to our hardworking organizers and everyone who attended, this event would not have been possible without your support.

It was truly wonderful to see so many members of our community come together—not just to enjoy great food and company, but to help make a difference in the world. Your generosity and enthusiasm give us those opportunities to make a positive impact. Thank you again for being a part of this event, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next!

Yours in Rotary,

James Wernicke, President-Elect

This Week’s Speaker

Today’s speaker is David Dropinski, a person who understands the grit, skill, and dedication required in the construction industry—an industry that quite literally builds the foundations of our communities. David has spent years in the trenches of the working man’s world, tackling the challenges of construction, from early-morning job sites to the precision and teamwork required to turn blueprints into reality. Whether it’s laying the groundwork for a new development, ensuring safety on-site, or keeping up with the evolving demands of modern infrastructure, this work is not just about hard labor—it’s about craftsmanship, resilience, and pride.

Last Week’s Speaker

In case you missed it, here’s Martin Cooper on Tanzania. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel. If we get 50 subscribers, we can start posting live videos!

Please Save Your Bottle Caps

The Rotary Club of Santa Fe Centro is partnering with Tierra Nueva Counseling Center and Green Tree Plastics LLC on an upcycling project. The Rotary Club of Los Alamos, who is jointly collaborating on the Peace Project with Rotary Club of Santa Fe Centro, is supporting them with these efforts described below.

The Rotary Club of Santa Fe Centro’s District Grant this year is to continue supporting Tierra Nueva and the development of their surrounding area, creating much-needed benches for the walking path currently under construction 

For this year’s project, their focus is on recycling plastic bottle caps that Green Tree Plastic will transform into benches. We invite you to participate by saving your plastic bottle caps—this includes caps from water bottles, yogurt containers, prescription bottles, detergent bottles, and any other plastic container caps and lids listed below with recycling codes #2, #4, or #5. By upcycling these items, we can keep them out of our Santa Fe landfills and turn them into benches that will serve our therapists, clients, and the entire community. Every cap counts!

Drop-off is available at Tierra Nueva Counseling Center, or feel free to contact Claudia Gerst directly for pick-up at 505-231-2240, or  give them to Alison.

Tierra Nueva Counseling Center address: 3952 San Felipe Road, Santa Fe

Thank you for helping us create something lasting for our community while helping to take the trash out of our landfills!

 Feel free to share the information at your workplace, Neighbours and everyone