Happy Earth Day

 Here are some Earth Day words from Jane Yolen to help you center your day...      in the very best way.

Video from https://youtu.be/cx-awEhjsKY?si=MgD4wbXtX9TKmLLJ

Earth Day: Gamified

My students are major fans of Blooket.com, a website dedicated to the gamification of learning new information. Given that, here's my Earth Day Blooket I created to add some Earth Day knowledge to your classrooms! Perfect to play this April, leading up to Earth Day: April 22nd!

Teachers, create a free login at Blooket.com. 

Then invite students to go to the website https://play.blooket.com/ and log in with the game code Blooket generates for you.

Blooket game created by me and can be found here: https://dashboard.blooket.com/set/69baacc06b519e9ae3abb824

Earth Day: April 22, 2026

It's April which means Earth Day is on it's way! For some, it's a day to honor and celebrate the Earth. For others, it's a week. For others still it's a month-long celebration....while for others it's a daily mindset.

I always like to think about "darkening my shade of green" when it come to environmentalism and Earth Day, so here are some great resources to check out to make this Earth Day a memorable one!

🌏 EarthDay.org's official 2026 website is always a go-to source of information. This year's theme: Our Power, Our Planet. Here you can find an event, register your event, or find a wealth of resources at their Earth Hub. You'll find toolkits, ways to take action, online quizzes, news/stories, and fact sheets to take your Earth Day knowledge to the next level.

🌍 Population Education is always one of my favorite websites. I love the way climate, population, energy economy, global interests, and more all intersect to build integrated learning opportunities. Their Earth Day Lesson Plans & Resources are top notch for kids grades K to 12 and are divided along grade level bands.

🌎 Check out the Almanac online for some basic information on Earth Day. Plus, you'll find a short quiz to see just how dark your shade of green is to begin with! Additionally there's 10 suggestions of ways to make Earth Day your own in the way you honor it.

🌏 National Geographics Kids also has a wealth on Earth Day at their site, geared directly for elementary students on a wealth of topics.

Image created at canva.com

Earth Day 2025 Resources

Earth Day is around the corner: Tuesday, April 22nd. 

Here are some ready resources for you...

• EarthDay.org is always has a wealth of information. In addition to a variety of resources, you can also find Earth Day activities taken around the world, ways to take action, Earth Day statements and imagery to add to your social media, lesson plans, quizzes-toolkits-fact sheets, on the Earth Hub, and more.

• Common Sense Media's "Free Activities for Earth Day and Learning About the Environment" has over 45 links to grade-level activities to investigate by yourself or with students.

• Common Sense Media also has a curated list of 27 climate education tools on their "Climate Change Resources for Students and Teachers"

• Columbia Climate School (from NYC's Columbia University) has a wealth of K-12 lesson plans & resources for teachers. Lots of good stuff here and on their whole website.

• Pick up the book Climate Champions: 15 Women Fighting for Your Future by Rachel Sarah. Written for young adult readers, even adults will learn a lot by these inspiring women. The book is divided into 3 categories: "Challenge the System,""Hold Fast to Science," and "Take a Stand for Justice." One of my favorite environmentalists, Katharine Hayhoe, is Chapter 6! 

• Check out PBS's Carmen's Eco-Farm Adventure interactive for 6th through 12th graders.

• Boom Learning's article entitled Activities That Inspire Environmental Stewardship has some great ideas and activities while also good reasons to start environmental stewardship while kids are young.

• For other resources, be sure to check out Earth Day archives here at Green Team Gazette.

Image from https://earthday.columbia.edu/

Happy 91st Birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall

This past Thursday was Dr. Jane Goodall's 91st birthday. Born April 3, 1934, she is still going strong, living a long, remarkable life! Thinking about her timeline, imagine all that she has lived through in terms of innovation & inventions, world events, social changes, and more. Then, there's her own amazing career as a primatologist, author, speaker, and planetary giver-of-hope. She is an extraordinary woman. I feel lucky to have seen her speak in person. (April 4th, 2008, in fact--the day after her 74th birthday.)

I've written about Jane Goodall several times here at GTG (check out the list below). Given that, it should be no surprise my level of reverence to her as an eco-rockstar. Celebrating her birthday and accomplishments seems like the perfect way to start off the month we celebrate Earth Day! We need to honor and thank champions, and Dr. Jane Goodall is a great place to start! I hope she's having an amazing birthday weekend!

• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!! April 4, 2014
• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall, August 15, 2014
• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!), Sept 23, 2017
• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall, May 16, 2020
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope, Feb 9, 2022
• Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion, April 17, 2024

Images from : https://bayweekly.com/old-site/year08/issuexvi15/burtonxvi15.html and Eco With Em's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem/posts/pfbid02xs9W9DuKusEFd69iFbg4jppm66FZGzHKRK3RiXziypR42Z8qns2Jbu4Vt2dH3Rbdl

Earth Day: A Week Later

It's a week after Earth Day, and I'm still thinking about it. Really, at this point in the venture, it shouldn't be just Earth DAY...or even Earth WEEK....we should be dedicating some thought and action to it daily.

A friend and former colleague Tim Decker wrote this piece, for 13 Creeks, a local, online publication . I wanted to share it forward here. Based on our past experience, we are fans of *at the least* Earth Month...and you'll see that in his writing. But always good food for thought. 

In it, you get a bit of history, a bit of science, and a bit of philosophy.

My favorite quote:

"How can you celebrate Earth Month, and Earth Day in particular? Enjoy an outdoor activity. Participate in an organized clean-up event, or just pick up trash in your neighborhood or at a local park. Plant a tree or some local plants that attract pollinators. Pledge to limit your use of plastics and fossil fuels whenever possible. Eat local. Shop local. Reduce. Reuse. Repurpose. Recycle."

For more articles on Environmental Stewardship, check out these articles:

• Advocating for Environmental Education By Robyn A. Hill, Ph. D. (April 19, 2024)
  
• Slip Sliding Away by Tim Decker (January 2024)

Image from Music Mound, Ohio. Photo by I. Oliyarnik as posted on https://www.13creeks.com/post/from-earth-day-to-earth-month?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3MiM3HFO3iCnFtFwCRWpGfJySvjNn8kmXoVcaCKii5YeWaemmSOq49xHs_aem_AZu0kX9-r07zb6BkGd-qN-wmf5ZTjOmNESkx6BbhU_juPNHEaxhwRdoZeMpQws8R9_3y0ZchXzB1bjrL0HsrGwi8

Eight Ways To Celebrate Earth Day

Happy Earth Day 2024

If you are still looking for ways to celebrate your Earth Day, here are 8. Take care of Mother Nature today in order to feel your personal impact on the planet!

Erase Plastics in your life! With the 2024 Earth Day theme "Planet vs. Plastics," what can you do to eliminate your own plastics. How long can you go without plastics? A day? A few days? A week? A month? More? 

Also, check out the "End Plastic Pollution Earth Day Calculator" to see just how much you use...and what you can do to eradicate it.

Announce, applaud, admire, accept, and adopt a mindset that kindness, social justice, anti-racism, a sense of community, equality, fair treatment, and the betterment of society are all environmental justice issues. So often, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) populations and lower income/poverty level communities tend to get the negative effects of climate change, pollution, and more.. NIMBY ("Not In My Backyard") is an attitude of influence, prejudice, privilege and entitlement when it comes to polluting factories or landfills "should be over THERE" (aka: not here, in my backyard, where I have to see it and live with it.). Don't be that guy (or gal)! Abandon your prejudices and biases and argue in favor of equality!

Really go all in with all the R's...Repair something or reuse it versus replacing it. Reduce your waste. Refuse to trash something or buy it to begin with. Remove the need to keep up with the Joneses, buying what you don't need. Think responsibly. Act rationally, radically, and rally together, sharing ideas. Remind others of all they can do to help your local and global and planetary community!

Take an online quiz via Gapminder.org. Gapminder is an independent educational non-profit fighting global misconceptions, with their mantra "Upgrade your world view." Use their non-partisan, fact-based tools and teaching materials to get a true handle on what life is like in the world.

Some good Gapminder quizzes to start with include: Global Warming, Plastics in Ocean, Threatened Species, Electricity Access, Water at Home, and many more.

Help out by a nearby park, neighborhood, schoolyard, or stream by going by and staging your own environmental clean up. Remove trash and litter to help create a happier habitat for the plants and animals that live there!

Downgrade your transportation needs for the day. Can you find a better way to get from Point A to Point B? Consider carpooling, biking, walking, or taking public transportation as a cleaner way to get around today, this week, or this month. Downsize your commute and your environmental impact by working from home if you can.

Abandon a wasteful mentality. Turn off the lights when leaving the room. Stop the faucet flow when brushing your teeth. Buy only what you plan on eating so you don't have to worry about cleaning the refrigerator or throwing away old food. Do you need 14 or the same shirt or with one or two suffice. Bring your reusable shopping bags so you don't need single use plastic or paper grocery sacks. Use a real fork or plate versus a consumable or plastic one. Going out to eat? Take your own reusable containers for your leftovers you want to eat at lunch tomorrow.  Argue against that idea that you need extras when you have enough!

Yearn to learn....never stop. "Yomp" as you go and explore nature and the natural world (aka; move quickly and energetically toward your goal with "determination and resilience"). Yield to new ideas that embrace a global perspective, a vision of human connection, and an attitude of environmental stewardship.

Happy 54th Earth Day, everyone! 

Would love to hear what YOU did 

to take care of our planet!

Earth Day sign and letters created with letter frames and pictures on Canva.com.

Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion

Lately, with life events, I've been living the Meg Ryan Lines in the 1991 movie "When Harry Met Sally" and I've been "trapped under something heavy." 

Given that, I've not been running as "on time" as I'd like. But there's a lot going on in the world eco-wise these days. Please bear with me as I play a little important catch up...starting with Jane Goodall's birthday about 2 weeks ago on April 3rd. 90 years are definitely worth celebrating!

Born in 1934, Jane Goodall is certainly an environmental champion and cheerleader. A primatologist, an ethologist (person who studies animal behavior), an anthropologist, a conservationist, a UN Messenger of Peace, an activist, a trailblazer, and the founder of The Jane Goodall Institute. Not letting 9 decades slow her down, she's currently on a worldwide tour to hit 6 continents this year. Her primary message: "hope through action." She's a phenomenal lady who could be slowing down, but would rather spend her time, energy, and effort fighting the good fight on behalf of our planet. In the days leading up to Earth Day, she certainly is one to celebrate!

And here are some additional tributes to this amazing environmental champion with some of my previous posts--happy belated birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall!

• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!! April 4, 2014

• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall, August 15, 2014

• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!), Sept 23, 2017

• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall, May 16, 2020

• A Trio of Messengers of Hope, Feb 9, 2022

Images: Portrait from her Jane Goodall Press kit (OTH0163-02-CREDIT: JGI/Bill Wallauer.jpeg) https://archive.janegoodall.org/portals/presskit?_gl=1*ouonf9*_ga*MTg2NTE2NzMzMy4xNzEyOTMyOTY3*_ga_TJ66KYN8TV*MTcxMjkzMjk2Ny4xLjEuMTcxMjkzMzYzMC42MC4wLjA.*_gcl_au*MTQ1MTYwODEyNi4xNzEyOTMyOTY3&_ga=2.129113676.157562142.1712932967-1865167333.1712932967, group photo taken by me on a school visit just a day after her 74th birthday https://www.greenteamgazette.com/2014/04/happy-80th-bday-jane-goodall.html, videos from https://youtu.be/7ZFgtsRpsUM?si=XmTU3ivgKBGd087L and https://youtu.be/wBZEVOuvqi8?si=Ds0t5CAJdnNpnkGF

Earth Day 2024: Planet Vs. Plastics

Earth Day is on its way, swiftly approaching on April 22nd. Since its first one in 1970, Earth Day has been a day dedicated to the betterment of our planet.

The 2024 Theme: Planet vs. Plastics

The goal: to remove 60% of the plastics by 2040...with the true goal to aim for a plastic-free planet. 

When you think of plastics, it's everywhere--and sometimes it's necessary. Think about its role in the medical field. However, the overuse of single use plastic has got to go. Not only is it a waste of a valuable, non-renewable resource (petroleum), but it is an endocrine disruptor and toxic hazard which can cause cancer. It's everywhere--in our food, in our fast fashion, in our air and water. And it's not recycled like we all wishfully think it is--only 5% is recycled globally. 

For a bounty of ideas, check out the Earth Day Action Toolkit 2024 from EarthDay.org. You can find many of their other Earth Day and beyond toolkits here.

Additionally, here are more resources:

• Maine's Department of Education Earth Day 2024 website of Educator Resources (There's a wealth in here!! Way to go, Maine!)

• EarthDay.org's Plastic Pollution Fact Sheets

• EarthDay.org's "End Plastics" online quizzes (and more!)

• Pedagogue's Earth Day 2024 Teaching Resources--with 8 online resources of what websites specifically to visit.

• Scholastic's Celebrate Earth Day activities

• Teach Starter's Earth Day 2024 Teaching Resources

• Planetpal's Earth Day page of resources

What will you do for Earth Day this year?

HERE

Earth Day PSA video: https://youtu.be/xP-iIilHQsU?si=OMGF2Ja2tIbfY_fr, image from https://www.dreamstime.com/illustration/plastic-vs-planet.html and https://www.earthday.org/planet-vs-plastics/, Earth Month Calendar from https://subjecttoclimate.org/blog/2024-earth-day-activity-guide-for-6-8#Lesson%20Plans

Podcasts, Podcasts Everywhere

If you've been around awhile, you know I'm a major fan of podcasts.

I happened on this website somewhere on social media and it's a complete treasure trove of classroom podcasts on a variety of subjects over at Jeff Glade Tech. Jeff Glade is a Digital Learning Consultant in Iowa who focuses on literacy instruction through a variety off mediums beyond just traditional texts. He has been compiling monthly curated lists of podcasts on a variety of subjects. Each list is in a google slide (typically 2 pages plus a third with explanation), and each podcast he mentions he lists the grade level range for which each podcast would be appropriate. Lots of supplemental resources for your classroom!!

This link takes you directly to the Hispanic Heritage Month Podcasts. Hispanic Heritage Month is rounding out here as it annually is September 15-October 15. 

Other curated lists of Jeff Glade's include:

• AAPI Podcasts -- Asian American/Pacific Islander Month: May
• Conservation Podcasts -- Think Earth Day: April 22nd
• Women's History Month -- March
• Black History Month -- February
• Native American Heritage Month Podcasts -- November
• Halloween Podcasts 
• Pride Podcasts -- Pride Month: June (Other Pride Related Special Days can be found here)
• Disability Awareness Podcasts -- Disability Awareness Month: March
• At this writing, he also has lists for the following months: February, March, April, Sept, December

He's been compiling current lists since 2019, so you will find multiple clickable lists with the same titles for a true wealth. (They are dated in the bottom right-hand corner.)

He also has some practical ideas about to incorporate these into your lessons with some meaningful activity suggestions and tech integrations that you can easily put into practice in your classroom.

Image created at https://imgflip.com/i/81wa5n

Nature Activities for Kids

Because Earth Day should really be everyday....

Because spring has spring.... 

Because kids need to be outside more and get more Vitamin N...

And because I absolutely love this graphic....

graphic from https://www.facebook.com/MindShift.KQED/posts/pfbid02Rn8AZxPQSoAWiSa1PkqyQjepk1LG58Zjxa9GYEMAtUyuBqBgbMFZvZVMmVNmQyXFl

Just in Time for Earth Day: Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All

On Earth Day this past Saturday, I was delighted to run across this post on social media from the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

I love that the White House issued this the day before Earth Day! As I have learned more and more over the past decade about environmentalism, it has been striking how much a part of it is tied to environmental justice. NIMBY is a real thing, and it impacts black and brown communities and those less affluent in many ways! 

NIMBY, by the way, stands for "not in my backyard," which is a philosophy of many of where we want -- and need -- different global solutions, but people don't want them in their backyard. Classic examples include subsidized housing, waste facilities, factories, wind or solar farms, homeless shelters, and more. Typically the ones complaining and who are heard, are also the ones with power, influence, voice, money, and majority. So more often than not, these items appear in lower income neighborhoods, where the negative impacts affect minorities disproportionately to those in the majority. Additionally, these populations also feel the greater impact of climate change.

Hence the need for environmental justice!

To read the White House Fact Sheet of Biden's Executive Order, Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, click here.

Additionally, among the many facets of the executive order, Biden and the EPA have released the draft for "National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution." Open to the public for comment, this 41 page document (that you can access online), highlights the following 3 quoted objectives and proposed actions from page 1 of the document:

1. Reduce pollution during plastic production
2. Improve post-use materials management
3. Prevent trash and micro/nanoplastics from entering waterways and remove escaped trash from the environment.

Marine pollution is certainly a problem that even if we tackle it today, there is pollution and waste that is out there that will still make its way into waterways over time. 

Commitment such as both of these major moves is worth celebrating and I'm proud that Biden and the EPA unleashed it right during Earth Day season. It's time we start making forward movement collectively in favor of our planet!

Facebook post from https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=606086091547046&set=a.478972317591758 and https://sustainability.uconn.edu/environmental-justice/ and https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/06/5-ways-we-can-improve-ocean-health/

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  What will you do today?

Infographic from https://elearninginfographics.com/10-ways-to-make-everyday-earth-day/

Earth Day Videos You've Been Looking For

With Earth Day this Saturday ahead, odds are high that classrooms all over are talking about Earth Day either this week or even next ... or both. Here are some last minute visual finds that might be just what you are looking for in your classroom, no matter what level you teach:

Early Elementary

You can also find more at this link to SimplyKinder.

Middle to Upper Elementary

Middle School, High School, or Older

Earth Day Animated in 5 minutes is also pretty cool. Click here to watch as the creator does not allow playback on other websites.

Image created on canva.com and Videos from: https://youtu.be/IkBRbiRyeuU; https://youtu.be/BIRJgGgqSgU; https://youtu.be/YKhRmZskj9k; https://youtu.be/HnepmcAt1JA; https://youtu.be/qtyBzFV9yTs; https://youtu.be/RNFIPZE5KEg;https://youtu.be/PL31i1cu22U; and https://youtu.be/b6LUaGy1ChA

Earth Day Is On The Way 2023

Earth Day is on its way--a week away in fact. Since its inception in 1970, we have now collectively spent over 5 decades using April 22nd as a day to honor, serve,  care for, and protect our planet. 

Here are a few things going on in my elementary tech world this week:

My Kindergarten students will be learning a little bit about Google Docs by creating an Earth Day poster.

Both my 1st and 2nd graders will be using Scratch Jr. and coding to highlight our planet. I'll be having first graders code nature in action with active sentences to show animals in their natural habitat doing what they do. My second graders will get a list of sentences about things they can do to take care of the Earth like recycling, saving energy, carpooling, and more.

With some of my older elementary students, we'll be investigating Scratch to code and create a Google Doodle Logo in an eco-theme with one grade and making Earth Day mazes with another.

With Earth Day a week away, it's not too late to plan either high, low, or no-tech activities to tie in.

• From Sphero Robotics: "4 STEAM Activities To Celebrate Earth Day"

• From Erintegration you can find 10 "Earth Day Technology Projects and Activities"

• From STEAMsational, you'll find a combination of low and no-tech projects with their "Earth Day STEM Activities to Inspire Kids to Care for Our World"

• From Project Learning Tree, you'll land on a wealth of no-tech projects at "Earth Day Activities to Inspire Your Students and Make a Difference"

• From the Homeschool Resource Room: "Earth Day STEM Activities: 15 FUN, Hands-on Ideas!"

• From Teach Expertise: "37 Engaging Earth Day Activities for Elementary Students"

• Not to mention...there's always a wealth of information and ideas at Earth Day Network. Included in their resources are some pretty amazing toolkits on a variety of subjects.

• And... there's always the GTG Earth Day archives to investigate.

Whatever you do for Earth Day, I hope it takes you outdoors, brings about the sharing of awareness, and environmental stewardship! Even better...make it more than the day. Make it Earth Week, Earth Month, or a daily goal to do a little something all year long!

Image from https://www.earthreminder.com/ and https://www.skipprichard.com/25-simple-ways-to-celebrate-earth-day/

Bill Nye The Science Guy

A bit ago (perfectly timed about a week before Earth Day) the Baltimore Speaker Series had their final speaker of the season: Bill Nye. To me, he'll always be known as "Bill Nye, The Science Guy" (because I'm in that age group that knew him as such.) It was a sweet li'l moment of nirvana to be in the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, basking in the presence of his wit, humor, and intelligence, talking about science and our planet during Earth Day season!

Being foremost a scientist as well as an engineer, an author, speaker, inventor, he knows a lot about a lot. Clearly he believes in science and wants us all to know that it's important. The whole evening, and now as I reflect back, I'm struck by this quote that hangs in my office which is from Neil Degrasse Tyson [who is a good friend of Bill Nye's, by the way]:

I love Bill Nye's approach to everything. He makes you think. He makes you laugh. He makes you think some more. It seems a lot more of us in the world need to adopt that approach! A big part of his conversation was that the denial of climate change is NOT going to change anything. The science is real. 2010 to 2020 was the hottest decade on record. There is science in ice core samples, tree rings, fossils, shrinking glaciers in Greenland, and more that backs up the fact that rising historic temperatures all point to human impact. 

Bill Nye made reference to the Earthrise picture of the planet (taken by Bill Anders from space December 24, 1968). This reminded me of my recent Amanda Gorman post. Their messages of both were the same. We have a shared reality here on planet Earth. No political boundaries. One place. One people.

He also made reference to the 2022 Oscars Night/Will Smith slap that was heard around the world. Of course by now, that news has died down a bit, but media in the instant aftermath was highly abuzz about it. Bill Nye said if we all were talking about climate change in the same way and to the same extent that everyone was talking about Hollywood news, we'd be "getting it done." His messages: 

1. We indeed need to be talking about climate change and science as much as possible. 
2. Secondarily, we need to be voting (with the environment in mind when we do) or basically shut up and get out of the way.

His third message, which I found a mirror to what I always say, is that it's going to take big ideas and innovation to solve the climate crisis, which he deemed one of the greatest problems we are facing. Because we all share this world--we all share the air--everything we do affects everyone else. We can't say "fire" in a movie theater without consequences. We all need to work together to figure "it" all out. No one is coming to save us --it's up to us to figure this out.

Bill Nye also commented about Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S Constitution and how one of Congress' roles is to "promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." Useful arts is engineering and innovation. He stressed that it is in the Constitution to go forward with our big ideas and be problems solvers using innovation! It is our job to "create the future we want." Not surprisingly, this is the motto and mission of The Solutions Project, where Bill Nye is one of the 40 funders. Their goals? 

• To celebrate those leaders in the forefront of climate awareness and justice. 
• To push for 100% clean energy by 2050. Not only would this significantly help our planet, but it could generate 3 million jobs in renewables.
• To offer grants and support to those out there making a difference through climate innovation.

Bill Nye left that evening with an inspirational call for action--to go forth and change the world. It's going to take us, people! Let's do this! 

Neil Degrasse Tyson quote created at Canva.com; Final picture from my camera. Earthrise pic from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/dec/22/behold-blue-plant-photograph-earthrise, Bill Nye photo quote from https://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/great-bill-nye-quotes/84820033/

Amanda Gorman's "Earthrise"

The beauty about Earth Day is that we have come to the point, after fifty years and if you've been paying attention, that Earth Day should not be only one day. More than a day, more than "Earth Week," more than "Earth Month," every day should be Earth Day.

Many of us had never hear of Amanda Gorman until we were blown away by at President Biden's inauguration with her poem "The Hill We Climb." Since then, she's perhaps a modern day poet rockstar to many. As her website states, she's a wordsmith and a changemaker: rockstar indeed!

A dear friend from my very green school of days gone by shared this video of Amanda Gorman's poem "Earthrise" on Earth Day. Powerful. Inspiring. Meaningful and moving. Created before Inauguration Day in 2021! 

While Earth Day has passed, the meaning of the importance of that day has not. Every day should be Earth Day

Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55738564; video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOvBv8RLmo 

Earth Day 2022: What Are You Going To Do?

Happy Earth Day 2022.

With Earth Day this year on a Friday, it gives you not only Earth Day to make a difference, but the entire weekend.

My recent Earth Day post listed a lot of resources online to investigate. Excellent resources to learn from and, if you are a teacher, to help inspire you to bring environmental stewardship into your classroom. 

But Earth Day isn't just about education, it is also about "doing." It's about going out there and doing something that makes a difference to our planet Earth. Getting involved. 

For that reason, I'm referring back to a resource I listed in my April 13th post last week: EarthDay.org's 52 Ways to Invest in Our Planet. I love this list for so many reasons. It's a clickable list, so it is a great learning tool. I also love that there are 52 listed ideas. You could save one to do each week, giving yourself 52 weeks worth of planetary action to help make a difference. Additionally, you could print this copy I created and use it as a Bingo Board of taking action. 

How many things can you do this weekend to take action?

Bingo board created at www.canva.com using screenshots from EarthDay.org's list of 52 Ways to Invest in Our Planet: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-tips/ . To print a higher quality version of this board, go to here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAE9f3yYDDw/s3FuUa50DTHnQedZ8-YzWA/view?utm_content=DAE9f3yYDDw&utm_campaign=share_your_design&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel

How Well Do You Know Earth Day's History?

As a follow up to my recent post about Earth Day and with it swiftly approaching this Friday, it is time to test your knowledge! How much do you know about the history of Earth Day? Take this quiz and find out!

Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3KGYzN0lc, Image from https://www.cleanlink.com/news/article/The-History-Of-Earth-Day--13085

Holidays Abound

Surprisingly, it is not often when Easter Sunday, the eight days of Passover, and the month of Ramadan all overlap. 

This year they do:

• Easter: April 17th
• Passover: April 15th--23rd
• Ramadan: April 2nd--May 2nd

The reason for this is in part due to Ramadan being the 9th month on the Islamic lunar calendar. Additionally, the Hebrew calendar follows a lunar calendar but adds a 13th month in 7 out of 19 years to meet up with the Gregorian/solar calendar that we all use to follow January to December. With these different calendars at play, the simultaneous timing of major holidays within the sacred traditions Christian, Jewish, and Islam religions only happens approximately every 33 years.

All of this, along with the also highly secular nature of Easter in the United States, reminds us that the world is filled with a beautiful variety of people. We are connected to each other on this planet of ours. Earth Day on April 22nd is another reminder of that. 

I ran across this quote from Ben Irwin on Preemptive Love's website that sums it up beautifully:

"Human diversity is a lot like biodiversity: once it’s lost, it’s gone. And we may not realize how much we need it until it’s too late."

May we all take this spirit of diversity and carry it throughout the entire month of April... if not the entire year. Whether you are feasting for Easter to celebrate the end of your 40 days of Lent, fasting for Ramadan to celebrate during Eid al-Fatr, or fasting from leavened grains yet feasting in other ways during your Passover seder, may your holiday be one filled with love, family, and joy.

Pictures created at www.canva.com.