Run for One Planet runs through Yarmouth

The pair – who left Vancouver in May with the intention of running a marathon each per running day while traversing Canada and the United States, along the way encouraging people to go green and raising money for the cause – arrived in Yarmouth Monday and on Tuesday at noon were in Frost Park for an event that included greetings from Mayor Charles Crosby.

“The Run for One Planet is really all about personal empowerment, the power of one,” Tait said. “Every single person’s actions and choices all make a difference…Our motto is ‘small steps add up.’”

Aside from being welcomed by the mayor and greeted by a group of local people, Hill and Tait were presented with a package of green-oriented items from Waste Check, the region’s solid waste management authority.

They had spoken to some local students earlier in the day and were slated to visit another school in the afternoon.

Hill and Tait have a fundraising goal of $1 million, money that is to be used to support green initiatives. (They were approaching $55,000 as of Tuesday’s noon-hour event in Yarmouth.)

As they make their way along their journey, they are encouraging people to take action. A Run for One Planet brochure features the following list of 10 suggestions:

--Eat local and organic.

--Turn off your car.

--Eliminate plastic bags.

--Use green cleaners.

--Turn off the lights.

--Turn off the taps.

--Reduce, reuse, recycle.

--Compost.

--Bring your own bottle.

--Teach your children well.

Said Tait, referring to the Run for One Planet project, “We are all about inspiring people to take simple actions for the health of the planet.”

Hill, 40, and Tait, 26, were planning to leave Yarmouth on Wednesday. They would be heading to Saint John by ferry from Digby.