Every Day Is Special: April 22

April 22 - Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2021

This is an update of my post published on April 22, 2010:

Today is the day to consider the environment—EVERYTHING about Mother Earth, from the air and water, to the living plants and animals, to the resources and the microorganisms.

There is a lot to learn about what we already know about the interconnections between these living and nonliving things—and there is certainly a lot more to be discovered, as well!

Everything in an ecosystem is connected to everything else.
Nonliving parts like minerals and sunlight and water are
necessary to every sort of living thing - from enormous
trees to teensy bacteria - and all those living things are
interconnected, too!

There are a lot of things individuals can do to make a difference in either cleaning up the environment or preventing damage to it. We can help manage resources by reducing, reusing, and recycling! We can fight climate change by planting trees, using solar power, and putting pressure on our elected representatives to go green on a big scale!

Here are some websites to help you celebrate the day:

First, the official website. Be sure to notice this long list of tips on how to celebrate the day and/or save the planet.

Teen Vogue has a shorter article with ideas on how to get greener!

Planet Pals has a lot of activities, clip art, and lessons.

You can do huge projects like starting a community garden in the city, or you can do smaller projects like building and installing bee watering stations and bat houses. You can work to make your yard, patio, or balcony a greener place - or maybe even a safe spot for birds or other wildlife, a welcoming place for monarch butterflies or honey bees, or a perfect spot for frogs.

Did you know...?

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970. Suggested by Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson, it resulted from efforts by people from both parties and many different walks of life to have a giant “teach-in” about ecology and taking care of the Earth.

The famous recycling symbol is called the mobius loop. The symbol was invented by an architecture student named Gary Dean Anderson. This USC student designed the symbol for a contest that asked people to create a design that would represent paper recycling. The contest was part of that first Earth Day in 1970. Anderson's design won, but even more important, it was adopted for many different uses concerning recycling.

The mobius loops has been drawn in many different colors and many different versions. Some of them appear on this website. (NOTE: These symbols are free for the printing or cut-pasting.)

For more on the history of Earth Day, check out National Geographic Kids.