Earth Day – Saturday 22 April
What is Earth Day
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans — 10% of the U.S. population at the time — took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet.
The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event. Now every year on the 22nd April, Earth Day celebrates our plant and its protection, and encourages every citizen of this planet gets involved.
The Earth Day 2023 Theme is #INVEST IN THE PLANET – calling on governments, organisations and individuals to put a focus on collective responsibility and to help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy
Ideas to get involved
Below are 10 ideas on how you can get involved with Earth Day:
Sign the Petition on Sustainable Fashion– Sustainable fashion refers to a clothing supply chain that is ecologically and socially responsible. It aims to reorient the industry and consumers away from the fast fashion model and toward sustainable practices in sourcing, production, distribution, marketing, and consumption. Sign the petition HERE
Submit Your Own Act of Green – We encourage you do what you can do be green! Some simple examples include:
- Cycle or Walk to the shops rather than taking the car
- Clean the streets – on your daily walk pick up any stray litter you come across and dispose of correctly in the recycling bin.
- Veg out – Go meat free and commit to cutting meat out of your diet from 1 to 2 days a week (it’s much easier than it sounds!)
- Drawing environmentally themed art such as Earth Day posters to put in the The kids can get involved too!
- Turn off all technology for an hour (or longer if you dare!). Good for the environment and your mental health!
- On the food shop? Only buy items with recyclable packaging or organically sourced
- Drink tap water rather than bottled
- Turn off the heating and put on a jumper
But don’t just stop for the day, make a change and see how long you can keep it going!
The Great Global Cleanup! – Litter has a huge environmental impact, and for 2023 Earth Day is challenging us all to clean up and litter pick within our local areas. Whether it’s a lot or a little, every bit of litter removed makes a difference! The team at St. Enoch Centre will be doing a litter pick in St. Enoch Square on Friday 21st April.
Want to Start a litter cleanup? – be sure to follow the cleanup check list HERE before you start.
Is litter an issue at one of your sites? Why not start a cleanup event and get occupiers and staff involved too! Register your event HERE and get your site to appear on the Earth Day map!
Make your litter picking a fundraiser for Earth Day – for details on how to do this click HERE
Plogging! – yes that’s right, a combination of litter picking and Jogging! Benefits include:
- cleanup your favorite running route
- bring a new challenge to your workout and
- allows you to help your community without breaking your daily routine
- Again, remember to register HERE
The Global Earth Challenge– Become an environmental scientist! The Earth Challenge app is available on Android and iOS devices and lets you gather important scientific data near you. It has two elements for you to measure — air quality and plastic pollution — with more on the way. Find on the Apple Store/Google
Work for the Earth – Will you Volunteer for the Earth? Sign up to find volunteer opportunities within your area – CLICK HERE
Learn About your Foodprint – A foodprint measures the environmental impacts associated with the growing, producing, transporting, and storing of our food— from the natural resources consumed to the pollution produced to the greenhouse gases Lean more about this HERE, including discovering your impact, trying plant-based diets, and trying new recipes!
Donate to Earth Day -Your donation helps to continue to organize tens of thousands of groups and institutions into one collective voice to protect the environment and fight climate change
Calculate your Plastic Footprint – Plastic pollution is one of the most important environmental problems that we face It impacts the environment and our health and wellbeing. We have all contributed to this problem – mostly unknowingly – and we must work to reduce and ultimately to End Plastic Pollution. Calculate your plastic footprint today and see how much you could reduce this by annually HERE
52 other Ways to Help Restore the Earth- Stuck for ideas? Every day is Earth Day If you feel the same, here are 52 actions and tips to make a difference, every day of the year. CLICK HERE
For more information on Earth Day 2023, the official theme, updates, and how to get involved, please visit: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2023/
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