NATCHEZ — Kermit the Frog has been preaching for years that it is not easy being green. And while it may not have been easy for him, being green in the Miss-Lou is possible. It just takes a little creativity. Steve McNerney, a member of the Adams County Green Alliance, said just because Adams County doesn’t have a curb side recycling program, there are still plenty of easy ways to recycle locally. People just have to put their thinking caps on, McNerney said.

“A lot of people say we don’t have recycling here, but the fact of the matter is there are a lot of ways, and things you can do, to be more earth friendly,” McNerney said. “You can do a lot of things here, but, right now, you have to really want to.”

Earth Day is being celebrated nationwide today and serves as a good starting point for those looking for ways to be more green.

McNerney said instead of being quick to put an old appliance or piece of furniture at the curb on trash day, consider donating it to a local thrift shop. He said several local shops will even pick up large donations.

“It may not be of any use to you anymore, but, gee whiz, it can be used again,” McNerney said.

And instead of throwing out old newspapers, McNerney suggested bundling them up and donating a stack to the local humane society who uses them in animal kennels.

He said other items such as rechargeable batteries for cell phones, laptops and tools can also be dropped off at Radio Shack and Stine Lumber Company instead of tossing them out in the trash.

And for food waste, McNerney suggested starting an at-home compost pile. Non-meat food scraps can be combined with yard waste to form a compost pile, that will, as time passes, give back.

“We all probably drink coffee and eat salads, and most of that kitchen waste, other than meat, can be easily composted,” McNerney said. “And you end up with some very good soil in a relatively short time.”

Recylcing, or reusing, isn’t the only way to become more earth-friendly. Conservation of resources is another way to be a little more green, McNerney said. And, like recycling, there are several easy ways to conserve both water and energy.

McNerney said a good place to start conserving water is in the yard. McNerney suggested using a drip irrigation system that uses a fraction of the amount of water that a sprinkler or water hose would.

“They are very easy to put in and save a tremendous amount of water,” he said. “You are using something like two gallons of water an hour.”

But for those who would still rather use a hose or sprinkler, McNerney said, to be mindful of the time of day watering is done.

“Make sure you are doing it early, early in the morning and not in full sun,” he said. “There is an amount of water, when watering in the middle of the day, that is lost just due to evaporation.”

Ruth Nichols has seen first hand the good water and energy conservation can do. Prior to becoming the director of programs and activities at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez, Nichols was the president of a technical college in Clarkesville, Ga., when Georgia was experiencing a large water shortage.

She said the school made a campus-wide effort to conserve both water and energy.

“We sent out a daily e-mail to all the staff just with ideas of ways we could conserve,” she said. “They were just simple suggestions like turning off the water when you brush your teeth.”

They also replaced outdated toilets with low flow toilets as money allowed.

And many light switches on campus were fitted with a sign reminding people to turn the lights off when they left a room, Nichols said.

“Even when power rates were going up, we saw a decrease in our power bill just from that initiative,” she said.

The school also had a conservation project that used empty syrup barrels donated by Coca Cola to make containers to collect rain water that could them be used in place of running water for watering plants and yards.

Nichols said the project wouldn’t have been possible without the barrel donations by Coca Cola, and said that relationships like that are key in starting community-wide conservation projects.

“It is vital to form partnerships among businesses, schools, groups and individuals, where everyone can make a contribution,” Nichols said. “That creates a ‘think-tank’ where people come up with ideas and work together.”

One of the best partnerships a community can form is with local schools, she said. Educating school-age children on the importance of conservation.

One of the ways children can be reached is through educational materials such as activity books and coloring sheets that demonstrate ways to be earth friendly, Nichols said.

“When you reach the children you are going to do two things,” she said. “First, you are creating adults of the future that are conservation minded. And second, one of the best ways to reach adults is through their children.

“Children have a natural enthusiasm that can be tapped into.”