ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories will celebrate Earth Day April 22 with events ranging from a talk by a landscape designer to a variety of booths encouraging people to put a little “green” in their lives. The theme of this year’s event is “Every Little Bit Counts.”

Media planning to attend the event should call Chris Burroughs at 844-0948 by noon on April 21 to arrange for arrange for escorting on the Kirtland Air Force Base.

“We called it that because we believe environmental changes can be made in small increments,” says Jack Mizner of Sandia’s Environmental Planning Department and leader for Sandia”s Earth Day 2009 efforts. “People can make small and better choices at home or work. Every little bit you do helps, whether it’s taking a cloth bag to the grocery store instead of using plastic bags or recycling.”

He says the purpose of the event is “to make people more aware of how important it is to protect our natural resources and reduce greenhouse gases to protect and preserve our environment for future generations.”

Earth Day will begin with a talk by Judith Phillips at 10 a.m. at the Steve Schiff Auditorium at Kirtland. Phillips is a landscape designer who prefers working with native and xeric plants because she says they are beautiful, conserve water, and support wildlife. She has written five books and numerous articles encouraging people to garden with a passion for the high desert. She also teaches an arid-adapted plants class in the Landscape Architecture Department at the University of New Mexico.

Immediately after her talk until 1 p.m. attendees can visit 16 displays at a tent outside the Steve Schiff Auditorium promoting good environmental practices. Booths will include:

• Earth, Wind and Sun promo — On July 21 and 22 Sandia will host the second Annual Earth, Wind and Sun event. The booth will provide more information on the event.
• FoodPrint NM — This organization promotes development of carbon-neutral infrastructure for food production, distribution and storage.
• Habitat for Humanity of New Mexico — Habitat’s goal is to increase production of affordable housing for low-income families throughout New Mexico.
• US Green Building Council — The New Mexico Chapter of the US Green Building Council is a local nonprofit with a mission: to transform the built environment through education, collaboration and outreach to promote environmentally responsible practices that are economically and socially beneficial to the community.
• Sandia Employee Recreation Program (SERP) — SERP is a Sandia organization that offers outdoor rental equipment, bus passes and other solutions for reducing your footprint.
• City of Albuquerque Open Space Division — This organization works to acquire and protect the natural character of land designated as major public open space. These lands comprise more than 28,000 acres in and around Albuquerque.
• New Mexico Environment Department Recycling Exhibit — This exhibit will provide information for New Mexicans on how to live an environmentally sustainable life.
• 2700 Green Team — The Org. 2700 Green Team will have a booth that focuses on energy conservation, recycling, and all things green.

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness.

Sandia news media contact: Chris Burroughs, coburro@sandia.gov (505) 844-0948