One vivid memory I have from elementary school is the Earth Day cookout. This is the one day a year our principal (at the time, Mr. Ide) would grill hot dogs on the grill, and every grade would get to go outside to eat. Students could take their lunch, but in my opinion, this was the best lunch the school served all year. Once students were given their hot dog, they would find their friends, sit with on the curb, and enjoy lunch. Then, when students were done eating, they could go play on the playground and basically get an extended recess! Best day of the year!
Now, the Earth Day Network brings together over 20,000 partners and organizations in 190 countries, which supports this mission. As reported by the National Geographic Society’s official website, in the United States and many other countries, Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22 or on the day of the spring equinox. Earth Day is celebrated in honor of the accomplishments of the environmental movements and raises awareness for the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for the future. In my opinion, Earth Day is a day when citizens act concerned for the environment and promote policies to support a healthy planet. (Which should happen year-round, not just for a day!) More than two hundred million people take action in celebrating Earth Day by advocating. They advocate to protect the planet from deforestation, pollution, and littering. Earth Day now brings together over 200 million participants.
According to National Geographic Kids’ Rose Davidson, Earth Day started in the 1960s during the environmental activism movement, which inspired Senator of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, to assemble a national celebration unifying the environmental movement. In 1970, Nelson had the help from Harvard graduate, Dennis Hayes, to create the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, to help educate students and participants on the importance of environmental conservation. The event was attended by twenty million people across the United States, which helped gain support for the legislation of the Clean Air Act, updated in 1970, and the Endangered Species Act, which was passed in 1973. Hayes upgraded the national holiday to a global holiday in 1990, with over 200 million participants in over 140 countries around the world, all year round. Schools all over the country take part in participating in the celebration of Earth Day.
If not celebrated at schools, people can still do crafts at home. You can have themed activities like art, science, STEAM, ecology, LEGO, or STEM challenges and activities to do. Things you can do in your everyday life to help keep the Earth healthy and clean are picking up trash, recycling, and using less fossil fuels. This year at Lewis Cass, Mrs. Jaberg and her class will be participating in Earth Day activities. On Earth Day, they will be picking up trash around the campus, making bird feeders, and making plantable seed paper hearts, which are smashed wet paper towels that they put seeds in and plant them.
Overall, Earth Day was a day created to help protect our Earth and community. I believe Earth Day should not be considered as a one-day event; rather, it should be celebrated year-round to protect the environment. There is only one Earth, and we need to keep it alive and thriving.
