“When life around the globe returns to normal, our world cannot return to business-as-usual.”
—Earth Day Network, the organizing body for Earth Day Worldwide
Each year—since the first Earth Day April 22, 1970—marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement. The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. The UN General Assembly designated 22 April as International Mother Earth Day—where people unite to appreciate and respect earth’s environment. The concerns then were: pollution, ecology and mass transportation. The concerns today are: climate change, species loss, pandemics and massive natural disasters that might define the future—unless we do something now.
In Boulder, we’re lucky to be part of a community that valued environmental stewardship long before there was a holiday to celebrate it. Typical ways of observing Earth Day include: planting trees, growing gardens, picking up roadside trash, conducting various programs for recycling and conservation.
Starting with the Biden administration convening a global climate summit with world leaders on Earth Day. EARTHDAY.ORG will host a multi-hour, multi-channel live streamed digital event featuring artists, musicians and celebrities, alongside climate leaders, grassroots activists, nonprofit innovators, thought and industry leaders. The event begins at noon ET and will consist of “workshops, panel discussions, roundtables, films, and special performances” focusing on “climate and environmental literacy, reforestation efforts, regenerative agriculture, equity and environmental justice, citizen science, cleanups, and beyond.” Its 2021 theme, Restore Our Earth, focuses on natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking to restore the world’s ecosystems.
Boulder’s Earth Day Activities and Events
BOULDER.EARTH
Connecting for collective impact around climate action in Boulder.
EARTHDAY.ORG
Tree planting events in the area.
GROWINGGARDENS.ORG
Let’s Celebrate – it’s Earth Day! At Hawthorne Farm
