FRED HORCH OF SPARK APPLIED EFFICIENCY explains how people can replace everyday items with environmentally friendly alternatives. NATHAN STROUT / THE TIMES RECORD BRUNSWICK

While combating climate change may feel like an impossible mission, there is plenty individuals can do locally.

That was the message presented at a celebration of Earth Day on Sunday at St. Charles Borromeo Church. A panel discussion — and subsequent presentations — focused on what actions people can take to address the ongoing problem of climate change, from engaging in politics to do-it-yourself operations, like composting.

The Earth Day panel was the culmination of a series of conversations in February and March about Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical “Laudato Si” presented at the church and Curtis Memorial Library.

“We decided at the beginning that we would end this series with an Earth Day celebration that would bring those two groups together,” said Mary O’Brien, who helped organize the event. “We planned this day to reflect some of the themes Pope Francis writes about.”

MIDCOAST RESIDENTS gathered at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Brunswick on Earth Day to discuss ways to address climate change and other environmental issues. From left: Stephanie Miles of Maine Conservation Voters, Paul Perkins of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Bill Patterson of the Nature Conservancy, Mary Turner of the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program, and Fred Horch of Spark Applied Efficiency. NATHAN STROUT / THE TIMES RECORD Stephanie Miles of Maine Conservation Voters explained how individuals can engage in politics to implement change. Actions can vary from writing letters to the editor, voting or even emailing your representative to express your opinion, but the most powerful tool is showing up in person.

“If you are able to do that, that is the best way to really make the change on an issue you care about,” said Miles.

Testifying on legislation at the State House is an essential way to make yourself heard, she noted. Even just showing up at their office to talk about an issue can be the final push a legislator needs to change their mind.

Paul Perkins of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby went beyond local or even statewide politics to encourage people to act internationally in seeking solutions to climate change.

“I’ve been involved in various initiatives over the past 10 or 12 years on attempts to address climate at the local level, and they were good initiatives,” he said, “but I came away feeling as though they were not commensurate … to deal with the enormity and complexity of the problem.”

Instead, Perkins works with Citizens’ Climate Lobby with a goal of implementing a fee on carbon-based fuels like coal, oil and gas. Theoretically, that would discourage the use of harmful fossil fuels, said Perkins, and make renewable energy much more attractive to consumers. The plan would also use tariffs on products from countries that aren’t taking similar actions on their economy.

Of course, not all solutions need take place at the international or state level.

Bill Patterson of the Nature Conservancy promoted the use of conservation to help preserve significant swaths of the local environment.

There are several locally run land trusts in the Midcoast, from the Harpswell Heritage Land Trust to the Freeport Conservation Trust. Whether through easements or direct ownership of land, these local land trusts work to preserve sections of land for future generations.

“Approximately 20 percent of our state is conserved,” said Patterson, “and will remain sort of in its natural condition and habitat, which is exciting.

“Join a land trust,” he added. “Support conservation programs such as Land for Maine’s Future … and other opportunities for conservation so that we can have the beautiful landscape, the working landscape for generations to come.”

Mary Turner of the Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program spoke about ways to combat food waste in our communities. Most of the food at local pantries, she said, is actually recovered food, which is still edible but not quite ready for the market. For instance, groups like the Merrymeeting Gleaners go to farmers whose produce has already been harvested and pick over what’s left. Much that is not going to sell well at the market is perfectly fine for consumption, so the gleaners take it to the food pantries.

“We do throw a lot away,” said Turner. “A lot of food is not used because it’s not pretty.”

Turner pointed to the work of Good Shepherd Food Bank, where food that can no longer be sold from grocery chains and is distributed to food pantries, as an example of how some food waste can be avoided. Composting also plays an important role in keeping material out of landfills, she added.

Fred Horch of Spark Applied Efficiency highlighted a number of ways consumers can make more environmentally friendly products that are just as good as the products they’re currently using.

While Earth Day is only one day a year, conversations about and solutions to climate change take place at all levels.