Earth Day

Malmstrom's environmental flight from the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron displayed several energy efficient water and lighting alternatives along with a Team Malmstrom electric car. The environmentally friendly car has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and takes eight hours to charge. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

Earth Day

Janelle Broach (right), a Malmstrom family member, explains the benefits of using environmentally friendly household products to members of the community attending the Earth Day celebration. Ms. Broach displayed several 'green' alternatives to every day products. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

Earth Day

Duncan, 10, (left) and Thomas, 11, Clarke, both members of the Boy Scouts Troop 43 from Malmstrom, perform a stormwater pollution demonstration to Lindy Garner and her daughters Callan, 10, and Jadan, 6. The Scouts used cocoa and Kool-aid to represent pollutants that enter the Missouri River when it rains. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

Earth Day

Rudy Verzuh, a 341st Civil Engineer Squadron environmental engineer, watches as Tory Ewing, the director of sales for CocoAbsorb, performs a demonstration. Mr. Ewing's demonstration showed the difference between absorption with kitty litter and absorption with his product made from 100 percent coconut shell. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

Earth Day

Debbie Kimball, a representative of the City of Great Falls, holds a jar full of Earth Day poster contest participants' names while Mark Bell, principal client service manager at Weston Solutions, drawsthe winning entry. The Trek bike, valued at $500, was given away along with bike accessories at the Earth Day celebration. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

Earth Day

From left to right: Debbie Kimball, a representative of the City of Great Falls; Rachael Marjamaa, an East Middle School 7th grader; Mark Bell, principal client service manager at Weston Solutions; and Frank Carpenter, 341st Civil Engineer Squadron environmental protection specialist, stand for a photo with Rachael's new Trek bike she won at the Earth Day celebration April 16. Rachael's name was drawn from a jar full of all of the names of the participants in the poster contest. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Cortney Hansen)

MAFB partners with Community in Earth Day celebration

Published April 21, 2011
By Airman Cortney Hansen
341st Missile Wing Public Affairs

MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. -- Along with several local and federal environmental agencies, members from the environmental flight of Air Force Global Strike Command's 341st Civil Engineer Squadron gathered at the Civic Center Convention Center April 16 to help educate the Great Falls community on various ways to protect the environment during the annual Earth Day Celebration.

The 'Get your Green On' themed event featured environmentally friendly information and demonstrations, free product samples, games for children and also featured a band sponsored by Montana Waste Systems. It provided the community with green alternatives to every day products and pollution prevention methods.

"Every year we partner with the City of Great Falls, Pacific Recycling, the Great Falls Tribune and other vendors down town to do an Earth Day event," said Frank Carpenter, 341st CES environmental protection specialist. "Malmstrom has always been involved because we care about our neighbors and community downtown."

People attending the event browsed the various tables of vendors including a popular stormwater demonstration done by the Boy Scouts Troop 43 from Malmstrom Air Force Base. The demonstration allowed viewers to see that pesticides, fertilizers, dirt and other chemicals wash into the Missouri River with rainfall, and also provided information on how to prevent that from happening.

"It's a good learning experience for people who are unaware of what every day things can do to our environment," said William Ross, 15, a member of the Boy Scouts Troop 43.

People were also educated on a broad spectrum of environmentally friendly products available to them locally; to include everyday household items, compost and even pet products.

The day's activities were concluded with the announcement of the Earth Day poster contest winners, listed below:

Kindergarten: Jordan Clark
1st Grade: Ella Broach
2nd Grade: No entries
3rd Grade: Samar Debruycker
4th Grade: Megan Fehres
5th Grade: Emme Smith
6th Grade: Angie Severa
7th Grade Laura Bowers and Rachael Marjamaa tied
8th Grade: Jacob Bernhardt
9th Grade: Ginger Clarke
10th Grade: no entries
11th Grade: Katherine Messiner
12th Grade: Mark Oldham

All members who entered the poster contest were eligible to win a $500 Trek bike. Rachael Marjamaa was picked out of the jar of names to win the bike.

"Rachael's aspiration has always been to be an artist," said Robin Still, Rachael's mother.

"My science teacher gave me the flyer because she wanted me to enter," Rachael said. "I tried a whole bunch of different designs and finally a little girl taking care of a tree with the earth in it came to me - I thought that would be good."

Rachael's drawing is in a contest with one other design to be next year's Earth Day shirt design.

"Overall, Earth Day is a community involvement," Mr. Carpenter said. "It's partnership agencies interacting with each other to make things greener and cleaner."