Lewes announces winner of Earth Day tree raffle

The Lewes Board of Public Works announced Karen Coning was the winner of the City of Lewes 2016 Earth Day Tree raffle. Coning was excited to win, and she knows the perfect spot for the tree. The city raffles shade trees because they naturally provide a welcoming spot to cool down during hot summer days.

When shade trees are properly located and planted, they can reduce home and business energy costs by reducing the need for summer air conditioning. The energy savings associated with trees doesn’t stop with summer. In the winter, trees lose their leaves, which allows the sun to warm up homes and businesses, reducing heating needs and lowering heating costs. 

The 2016 Earth Day Tree Raffle is part of the Lewes BPW’s Earth Day Education campaign to teach its citizens more about energy efficiency and conservation. The Lewes Board of Public Works provided a display at their office for the public to learn more about this year’s overall message: Think Locally, Act Locally and Buy Locally to benefit health and quality of life while saving money.  

Thinking locally means asking citizens to think about the uniqueness of their community, how they sometimes waste limited resources and how to use resources more sustainably to retain the natural beauty of the local environment.

Acting locally means citizens taking action to help themselves and their community. Citizens save money on electricity costs through simple low- and no-cost energy efficiency measures, better understand how energy efficiency and conservation help reduce local carbon emissions, and take direct personal action by entering a raffle to win a tree that not only absorbs carbon but also reduces summer cooling costs through free shading. 

Buying locally means citizens should seek local resources first because imported food typically travels farther and requires more fuel to get from field to plate. Local trips can sometimes be handled on foot or bike, which reduces vehicle miles traveled and saves energy; reducing the amount of congestion on the roads can improve local air quality.

To learn more about how to save energy, go to http://demecinc.net.