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Let’s embrace Mother Earth!
According to Earthday.org, Earth Day was born in 1970, at the start of the modern environmental movement. During the time leading up to Earth Day’s inception, America was in a state of turmoil, thanks to factors like the war in Vietnam and Rachel Carson’s NYT bestseller Silent Spring. The book (published in 1962) ushered in a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies and raising public awareness about environmental concerns. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans from all walks of life took part in public demonstrations all over the country, rallying for increased environmental protection and sustainability efforts. By the end of that very same year, in addition to the first celebration of Earth Day, the United States formed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and initiatives such as the Clean Air Act, and Endangered Species Act.
Today, Earth Day is now celebrated in over 192 countries across the globe. (These events are coordinated globally by an organization called the Earth Day Network).
Here is what you can do…
Here are a few ideas that will inspire your residents to do their part and give back to the Earth.
- Encourage your residents to be advocates. Write letters to local politicians to voice your support for environmental causes. Sign online and offline petitions that support the environmental needs of your local community and the world as a whole.
- Volunteer – Find places residents can help local efforts. Staffing tables, manual labor, etc.
- Sign up for a class – Classes on recycling, gardening, composting, and more.
- Plant a tree – This may seem simple, but the act of planting a tree has many benefits. New habitat for wildlife, helping to clean the air and replacing resources that have been used.
- Start a garden – Earth Day’s timing couldn’t be better! Some of the best are ones that absorb CO2 and improve indoor air quality, like rubber plants, or plants that require minimal watering, like succulents. You could pot edible herbs or beautiful flowers.
- Have a dinner party – Serve local, organic foods, make it a potluck lunch, with the rule that everyone’s dish must be farm-to-table food.
- Host a cleanup – Go to your local park, beach, river.
- Go on a hike – Spend time getting outdoors and talk about why our earth is so important.
- Go dark for a day – encourage your residents to unplug from electronics and non-essential appliances and devices for a day.
- Do you have a recycling Dcenter? Do all your residents recycle? Encourage them!
- Education – Have books available, find blogs, watch a documentary.
- Cut back on plastic – Walk around and see what kind of disposable plastics you are using. Can they be replaced with reusable options? Water bottles, grocery bags, and other containers have less wasteful options now.
Here’s a cute easy printable game your residents may enjoy: Recycle and Win
Earth Day Crafts are always a hit!
- Make some seed bombs
- Here’s MULTIPLE Earth Day crafts that you don’t need a special day for!
- Here are some Clay Imprints with Plants and Flowers
- Here are our Earth Day Coloring Pages to print out!
YouTube Videos to learn more about Earth Day
- “It can be done.” – an Earth Day message
- What is Earth Day?
- Earth Day Song | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle | The 3 R’s of Recycling