The EcoBlock team is delighted to celebrate Earth Day—and Earth Month 2022, which marks the 1-year anniversary of the EcoBlock blog!
The History of Earth Day
Back in 1970, a young senator from Wisconsin named Gaylord Nelson established Earth Day to call attention to pressing planetary problems such as air pollution, water contamination, deforestation, and habitat loss, among others. On April 22, 1970, more than 20 million people across the United States came together to support Senator Nelson’s plan—which worked! This concerted action led to Congress to establish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal agency charged with regulating and protecting the earth.
This April 22nd marks the 52nd Earth Day since its inception in 1970. In celebration of Earth Day—and Earth Month—here are some fun activities you and your family can do to celebrate our planet, today and every day.
Celebrating Earth Day Locally
Oakland is dedicated to becoming a more sustainable city for “safe, happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives, now and into the future.” To this end, the city is taking steps to address the ongoing climate crisis through Oakland’s 2030 Equitable Climate Action Plan (ECAP). Adopted last summer, Oakland’s 10-year plan outlines key steps to decarbonize the city’s buildings and transportation, grow Oakland’s local economy, and equitably empower climate-resilient communities.
Oakland is celebrating Earth Month with a wide range of volunteer activities: on Saturday, April 23rd, the Oakland Public Works (OPW) department invites community members to engage in neighborhood beautification projects like removing trash from the city’s streets, waterways, and parks, restoring native habitats, and more. Learn how you can participate by visiting the City of Oakland’s Earth Day website.
Local organizations are also taking action. The East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse is holding a Trash to Treasure Earth Day event on Saturday, April 23rd at 11 am at Kasper’s Plaza in Oakland. Join the non-profit shop as they transform trash that was gathered from a previous clean-up day into art! Learn how you can participate on the Trash to Treasure event page.
Earth Day for Book and Movie Aficionados, Outdoor Enthusiasts, and Budding Entomologists
- Celebrate our precious planet with a great environmental read from the Oakland public library! Curl up with one of many books and audiobooks for kids and adults, which are available for free.
- You can stream environmental-themed movies for free on the Oakland Exploratorium’s website. Other great watches include the Saving San Francisco Bay Documentary and this Alameda County video about sustainable purchasing. Don’t miss these short documentaries about Oakland’s native trees and trails as well.
- Gamify your Earth Day! You can learn more about what goes where for home waste disposal in Oakland through this interactive game.
- Identify plants, bugs, and other backyard life with Seek iNaturalist. You can become a citizen scientist and contribute to critical climate data on local critters with this nifty app.
- Learn how to prevent water pollution and practice water-safe home maintenance tips from the Alameda County Clean Water Program.
- Love cooking? Reduce your food waste by doing a Fridge Reality Check and check out this fun list of zero-waste tricks and recipes.
Want to learn more? Visit the official Earth Day website for information on how to protect our planet and accelerate the race to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Now is the moment to be the change we all want to see because a “green future is a prosperous one.” You can also join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #InvestInOurPlanet.
Check out other Earth Day articles on the EcoBlock blog:
Cover image credit: Anna Haefele
