Fountain Hills Mayor Ginny Dickey joined with nine other Arizona mayors for a new statewide collaboration celebrating Earth Day this Thursday, April 22.

There are many ways Arizona communities support the Earth, with the goal of inspiring residents to take action for Earth Day during the month of April and beyond.

As members of and in partnership with Arizona State University’s Sustainable Cities Network, Arizona mayors and communities are showing that there is power in unity and that they all have a role to play in ensuring the planet’s health now and in the future, according to the announcement. Collectively, communities can protect precious and diverse natural resources and secure a thriving future for the state and world.

“Fountain Hills is proud to join communities across our state to help raise awareness of the issues we all face in protecting our environment,” Dickey said. “The town is always looking for innovative ways to protect our valuable resources. From using reclaimed water to irrigate Fountain Park and golf courses to installing electric charging stations and even enacting years ago Green Fridays to reduce energy consumption at Town Hall, Fountain Hills continues to strive to protect and be good stewards of our beautiful natural desert environment.”

To learn more and view a video message from the mayors, visit EarthDayAZ.org.

Participating cities and towns for Earth Day AZ include: El Mirage – Mayor Alexis Hermosillo; Flagstaff – Mayor Paul Deasy; Fountain Hills – Mayor Ginny Dickey; Mesa – Mayor John Giles; Oro Valley – Mayor Joe Winfield; Peoria – Mayor Cathy Carlat; Phoenix - Mayor Kate Gallego; Sedona - Mayor Sandy Moriarty; Tempe – Mayor Corey Woods and Tucson – Mayor Regina Romero.

Since April 22, 1970, Earth Day has been globally recognized as a way to motivate environmental initiatives. Each year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, but every day is the perfect opportunity for residents to show their commitment to protect the environment through more sustainable practices.

Steps to reduce consumption and be more sustainable include:

*Don’t leave water running when not in use.

*Carpool or use public transit whenever possible.

Reusing materials to decrease waste:

*Use a personal reusable water bottle or coffee mug.

*Take reusable shopping bags to the grocery store.

Recycling to reduce the amount of waste:

*Rinse out food cans before placing in a blue recycling container.

*Junk mail and magazines can go in the blue recycling container.

Reconsidering the items used daily:

*Use energy-efficient and long-lasting LED bulbs in the home.

*Buy recycled paper for the home and office.

These simple ways of reducing, reusing, recycling and reconsidering help achieve a more sustainable future.