Today we are celebrating the 50th Earth Day. Each year, there is a different theme focused on taking action to protect our planet. This year we will be focusing on Climate Action. This theme really encompasses the vast challenges climate change has brought us, as well as the ample opportunities we have to help prevent climate change. On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans, ten percent of the population at the time, got together as a response to the environmental problems of the time, oil spills, smog, and river pollution. Their goal was to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way to treat our planet. The inaugural Earth Day had a positive outcome. After the protest, The Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts were passed as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Okay, so this year we may not be able to get together and make a change, but that doesn’t mean that a person can’t make a change individually. Since so many people have stopped commuting to work and school, you have already improved your carbon footprint! Get outside and pick up some trash, or clean up your lawn, plant some flowers. Improve the land you can.
Below is a list of events to join virtually and specials you should watch the help connect yourself and your family with the Earth this Earth Day!
Chesapeake Bay Foundation: If you donate $50 or more in honor of Earth Day, you will be sent 5 native tree seedlings to plant at your home or in your community Scenic Rivers Land Trust: SRLT has put together a photo scavenger hunt to participate in at Bacon Ridge Natural Area to celebrate Earth Day. Tag the pictures on the checklist on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and you will be entered a drawing to win a prize Virtual Earth Day: Join this first ever virtual Earth Day civic event, pushing for action to help our Earth. Jane Goodall: The Hope: On April 22 at 9 p.m., watch the new documentary about Activist Jane Goodall on National Geographic Channel The Story of Plastic: At 2 p.m. on Earth Day, catch a timeline of how we got to our current plastic pollution crisis on the Discovery Channel Earth Day Mini Film Fest: Starting April 20, Earth Day Mini Film Fest will be available online. Register for the films you want to see and join for free, and then join the Zoom call to discuss after! Maryland Science Center: Check out the online activities the Maryland Science Center has to offer. Green Give: Green Give will have different activities to learn and do online through April 30 to celebrate Earth Day. Documentaries: Night on Earth: This nature series’ new technology lifts night’s veil to reveal the hidden lives of the world’s creatures, from lions on the hunt to bats on the wing. (Netflix) Our Planet: Experience our Planet’s natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts al living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope. (Netflix) You vs. Wild: Remember when you followed Bear Grylles in Man vs. Wild? Well now he is following you. Pick the adventure you and Bear go on with this choose your own adventure Netflix Series. National Geographic Earth Month Collection on Disney Plus
One Strange Rock: From Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, producer Jane Root, and host Will Smith, One Strange Rock reveals the magical twists of fate that have allowed life to thrive only on Earth. This is a story told by the only people to have left it behind – astronauts.
