Earth Day is April 22, 2020 (aka this Thursday). This national holiday was implemented by a US Senator, Gaylord Nelson. He, along with 20 million protestors in different cities across the United States, fought to establish it in an effort to force the national government to acknowledge its environmental issues and opportunities in legislation.
Because of this political move, future Congresses have been able to legislate in order to protect, conserve, and restore the environment to ensure health of our land and ecosystems as well as ensure they will still be here for the generations to come.
How can we celebrate Earth Day in a socially distanced way? By simply doing small things like recycling and avoiding the use of single-use plastics, we can begin to work on undoing the damage that is being done to our planet and, in an ideal world, the damage that has been done over the past years.
I am biased though, so I would say the best way to celebrate Earth Day is to attend our 4/24 Garden Birds event- but of course there are many other things you can do on Earth Day itself- this Thursday 4/22.
National Audubon's theme for this Earth Day is 'Restore Our Earth'. This can be lived out through ecologically responsible living as well as through political activism. Political activism does not have to mean in-person protesting or massive donations- it can be as simple as signing a petition or signing a letter to a legislator or government official. National Audubon Society is supporting a petition to rebuild the Louisiana Barataria Basin. This area of wetlands was badly damaged by the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, causing many animals to lose their habitats and nesting grounds, as well as many people. 40% of the US's migratory birds use this as a critical stopover site, meaning that failure to improve this land will lead to a decrease in the health of the species size of many migratory birds and insects.
Whatever it is you do this Earth Day, do it in the name of protecting, conserving, and repairing the land we are able to live upon and the land that our future children will. And you can also come visit us at the park if you'd like...
If you would like to sign the petition to rebuild the Louisiana Barataria Basin, click here to learn more.
