As a public transit agency, Metra is already green. But to celebrate Earth Day this year, Metra is going even greener with a week of activities to clean along its tracks and work with community groups to plant wildflowers and trees on Metra property.
“Taking personal responsibility for our riders and for each other is the core of our My Metra philosophy, and that certainly means taking care of our planet and our children’s future,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Jim Derwinski. “We feel good about the role Metra plays in helping the environment, primarily by taking cars off the road and reducing pollution, but we can always do more. We can set a good example and promote good environmental practices across the communities we serve.”
From Monday, April 18 through Earth Day on Friday, April 22, My Metra employees will be out across Metra-owned lines cleaning along the tracks and working with community groups to plant wildflowers and trees at various locations on Metra property. Cleanup and gardening activities will be taking place along the Rock Island Line, the Metra Electric Line and the Milwaukee District North and West lines. A list of some Metra’s Earth Day activities can be found here. News media seeking to cover these activities are asked to contact Metra’s Media Relations Department in advance at 321-322-6776.
Of course, Metra encourages the public to use public transit for the good of the environment – not to mention the benefits to your wallet, stress level and productivity. But we also hope to inspire the public to take other steps to observe Earth Day: Take a walk, plant a tree, ride your bike, plant a garden, recycle, or carpool. Go to earthday.org for more information on how your actions can help the planet we all share.