Every year, on April 22nd, we celebrate Earth Day. The day when we honor our home planet Earth. But, we have hurt and mistreated Earth for many years now. What does this mean for Earth day, and planet Earth?
First Earth Day
The first-ever Earth day ever celebrated was in 1970, on April 22nd. Why in 1970, and not earlier? I mean, we have polluted and hurt the planet since long before 1970. But, because of the recent launch of Apolo 8, where the first picture of Earth as a world was taken, people’s perspectives changed. We started seeing that every pollution, energy, and environmental problem was not bounded by the area where it happened. The event spread globally and isn’t confined to one location.
As Carl Sagan famously said:
Air molecules don’t need passports to travel around the world
Earth Day
What do people do on Earth Day? Generally, people take care of the environment more than on any other day, even though you should always care for the environment. The Earth is a very beautiful place, and it would be a very big problem and shame if we destroy it. Every day, we pump more and more CO2 and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, raising temperatures and destroying ecosystems, cities, nature and eventually us.
So, what people gained by celebrating Earth day? We gained a new understanding of the world, and we respected Earth more after the pictures started flooding in. People saw the importance of our planet, and if we kill it, we have nowhere to go. Our little blue marble is our only home, but people are oblivious to the fact that it is dying. Earth Day was and is celebrated, along with many organisations created to save and protect Earth, the only place we humans know as a home.
What should you do for Earth day this year? Even though we have the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 up until now (and it is still continuing), we cannot give up on Earth day! So this year, we will still have Earth day, but online. Or, in real life, just outside (after all, we need to take care of the outside). Here are some ideas for what YOU can do on Earth Day:
Clean up your school lawn
This can mean that you and your class get together and do some gardening!
Plant trees and flowers
Plant anything you want in your backyard, in a forest, around your school,…
Protect bees
Bees are vital for all our food supply. Make sure to take care of them! They love water and sugar, since they are similar to nectar.
Make homes for animals
You can create bird nests, habitats for small mammals, a bug hotel, a butterfly sanctuary,…
Clean a public space from trash
You and your class (or friends) can go to a park, public space and start cleaning! The citizens will also be thankful 🙂
Educate others
It is important to educate others about the environment, pollution, or climate change so we can be aware of our surroundings
The important thing is to work together with the planet and keep it protected, but our world is in danger, and we need to maintain it on other days, not just on Earth Day.Â
That is why I am launching the Green Spring event!
From April 22nd to June 21st (summer solstice), I will post a series of challenges and posts designed to help you learn and ensure that we do our best to protect our planet this year. Hopefully, after the event, you will continue your habits and keep saving the planet 🙂
The Green Spring Event!
In these 2 months, we are going to do a lot of things! The event is designed to help motivate you to protect Earth, use your creative skills and critical thinking for solutions, and help Earth. In this event, I will post climate change and environment posts, videos, projects, and actions. The actions will range from saving electricity to planting a vegetable or flower. To follow along with the actions, check out my social media, or look at the posts related to Earth Day, and there will always be one at the end of the post. If you do the action, please let me know! I wonder how it would go, and if you note something interesting or recommend an action, I would be more than happy! I will also include group and solo research projects, and all of them start with a question! Of course, there will be step-by-step instructions as well, so you and your friends don’t get lost on the way. Anybody can participate, so have fun!
