World Environment Day: June 5th

Annually, June 5th is World Environment Day. Led by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), this date is meant to unite people across the globe to heighten awareness for environmental action.

Eons ago, I submitted a blog post about World Environment Day to try to win a trip to Rwanda that UNEP was hosting in honor of World Environment Day. I didn't win. But it also shows how long this day has been a calendar date of awarenessfor GTG & me..

This year's theme is coined #GenerationRestoration, with the focus on land restoration, ending desertification, and working toward drought resilience.  According to UNEP, an estimated 3.2 billion people are hit hard by desertification. Additionally, droughts are anticipated to impact 3/4 of the world population by 2050. Yikes!

Some featured resources on their website include:

Musical playlists for #GenerationRestoration

A guidebook of solutions of things we can do to make a more resilient planet.

"Weird & Wonderful Fun Facts about Terrestrial Ecosystems" and their Key Messages about this year's theme.

Test yourself by taking the UNEP quiz "How Much Do You Know About Degraded Land, Deserts and Droughts?"

A list of UNEP World Environment Day events, including the mention of the 2020 documentary "Kiss the Ground," now currently a movie available on Netflix. Here's a trailer (narrated by Woody Harrelson):

Additionally, for my teacher friends out there, here are some more classroom resources:

• NASA Express' STEM Connection to World Environment Day
• TeachIt's World Environment Day 2024 Resource
• Larry Ferlazzo's World Environment Day Teaching & Learning Resources from 2021

video from https://youtu.be/Cfl9QVOnRgQ?si=P6WuN-8G4Ynvxc-R and https://youtu.be/K3-V1j-zMZw?si=hSGOqDoB6ghjag4m, logo from https://socenv.org.uk/global-theme-announced-for-world-environment-day-2024/

June 5: World Environment Day

It's not an advertised fact that June 5th annually is World Environment Day. This truly is unfortunate give that it has been around now as a designated UN General Assembly global day since 1972. 51 years since it was established, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the first celebration in 1973 where the slogan was "Only One Earth."

50 years later, there is STILL only one Earth, and yet it faces a lot of hardships in many ways, but particularly from and environmental standpoint.

This year, World Environment Day is hosted by Côte d'Ivoire in partnership with the Netherlands. The theme: "Solutions to Plastic Pollution." You can follow the social media hashtags at #BeatPlasticPollution. You can learn more about the necessary and nefarious effects of plastic by watching this video below, as well as watching and reading the United Nations Environmental Programme's visual feature here. Big takeaway: globally we produce about 400 MILLION tons of plastic pollution a year!

For resources to learn even more, check out the following:

• Get Involved: Get Solutions (3 more interesting videos [on local governments, business & finance, and people & communities] and a wealth of other info in their Practical Guide.

• Read the UNEP Report on how we can reduce plastic pollution by 80% by 2040 & watch the video here at "Turning Off the Tap: How the World Can End Plastic Pollution and Create a Circular Economy

• Learn more about Côte d'Ivoire hosting this year (and watch another fabulous video) at this link.

World Environmental Day Logo from https://socenv.org.uk/theme-announced-world-environment-day-2023/, Video from https://youtu.be/-wp99xFa76U

Mark Your Calendars

By day, I am a technology specialist and my world has a lot of digital components. But I'm still a tried-and-true "paper" girl when it comes to things like my lesson plan book and my calendar. Additionally, I'm a list maker who takes great pleasure in crossing items off. I like to see it all in front of me--as if in doing so, "it" all will magically make more sense. "It" being "life," of course! (I'm sure there's something in there about "control" as well, but I digress!)

I've recently found new inspiration in the digital calendar world--I've looked long and hard over the years and I did not think it would ever happen. I found an online calendar that not only syncs well across devices but also integrating my Apple and Google calendars nicely AND has an element of cute to it!! (Being a highly visual person, I have an extreme need for color, cute, fun fonts, and more.) But, I think I found nirvana in Artful Agenda--especially with all of that, plus inspirational daily quotes, and lists that give you the ability to cross them through. Add in, they have a Facebook group called "Arfully Obsessed," and it was there I got the idea to use my "Meals" section as a gratitude journal. It really hit my sweet spot and it has become my first stop every morning as I get organized for my day ahead. 

So of course, in my process of making it my own, I've been adding other elements to it too, because this calendar has become my latest obsession! I added some of the dates that our Diversity Director at school sent our way to create a separate Diversity-Equity-Inclusivity calendar in my master Google calendar, and found these 3 exceptional resources so I'll always know which months honor different cultures or what specific days are noteworthy.

• Kazoo's 2021 Workplace Diversity & Inclusivity Calendar
• Diversity Resources' 2021 Diversity Calendar
• Diversity Best Practices' 2021 Diversity Holiday Calendar

That, in turn, inspired me to go on the hunt for an environmental of "eco days," so I could be in the know if it was International Day for Biological Diversity (which is today--May 22nd) or World Environmental Day (coming up ahead: June 5th). The beauty of this one is that if you click on a date, you can automatically add it to your iCal. Additionally, each calendar date has some detailed information about what is specific to that environmental date. Yes, I'm in love! 

• ITU AbsorbTech's 2021 Environmental Days Calendar

So, if you too can get a little excited by random bits of knowledge, your calendar just may need these items!!! 

Have I ditched my physical calendar or notebook? No. But, I am finding I can live more harmoniously in both the paper and digital calendar worlds!!

Images from https://www.conversketch.com/blog/how-to-decide-paper-or-digital-graphic-recording-with-conversketch and https://www.artfulagenda.com

7 Billion Dreams. 1 Planet. Consume With Care.

No words in this video (which is now over 3 years old), but it certainly does make an impact, leaving you thinking.

What will your impact be on these (now) 7.6 billion dreams?



Video from UN Environment for the 2015 World Environment Day (June 5th Annually) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyL58vlbvgw

Eco Adventure's "After A While, Crocodile: Alexa's Diary" Book Launch

It's not your typical Friday night when you can get all of this in one fell swoop:

• Book signings
• Bonfires warming
• Face Paintings
• Gator Holdings
• Reticulated Python sightings
• Reptile handling
• Arts, and crafts galore, and more

But it is what you get when you go to EcoAdventures on a book launch eve of the book After A While Crocodile: Alexa's Diary by Dr. Brady Barr & Jennifer Keats Curtis.

The book follows Alexa in her school in Costa Rica, where she and her classmates are raising American Crocodiles.  She notes her crocodile's growth in her diary, and before you know it, it's time to return her guy Jefe back to the wild.

The two co-authors are infamous in their own rights. Dr. Brady Barr is known as a reptile expert (that's a "herpetologist" to you and me) and host to over 100 wildlife documentaries for National Geographic Television. He's a regular contributor to National Geographic Kids Magazine. Jennifer Keats Curtis is an environmental author of 18 children's books, many of which are on wildlife rescue. In addition to being passionate about animals and conservation, Jennifer is an amazing environmental educator (and Marylander) who also was a regular addition to our Eagle Cove Earth Week as an author in residence each year.  

EcoAdventures is the perfect place for this type of evening...especially when the Executive Director is Mei Len Sanchez-Barr...who is married to EcoAdventures' Public Relations guy and Animal Expert, Dr. Brady Barr!

Brady and Jennifer were on hand for autographs... as was Alexa! For me, meeting them was the highlight. However for the under-10 crowd that night, it could have been more about being around some really cool reptiles, getting faces painted, and a slew of other hands-on, memorable events.

After A While Crocodile: Alexa's Diary is a great book to round out your reptilian study.  Likewise, these are just a click away:

• Teaching Activities 
• "For Creative Minds" extension activities
• Author Interview with Jennifer Keats Curtis
• Learn more about EcoAdventures and their offerings

Eco Adventure logo from http://www.ecoadventures.org; all other pictures from my camera from the Book Launching event Novemenber 18, 2016.

A Great School Lives In Its Students Forever

This week has been a big environmental week--both near and far, and far and wide within my heart:

• Thursday, June 5th was World Environment Day. This is an annual United Nations Day to globally promote the importance of tending our planet.  They have a long history of spreading the message that every little action adds up to create world-wide waves that lead to change.  This year's theme is "Raise Your Voice, Not the Sea Level."  Check out the link to learn more about World Environment Day 2014.

• Friday, June 6th was our last day of school at Eagle Cove School--complete with 5th grade graduation.  Typically there is glee in the hearts of students, teachers, and maybe even parents to "bring on summer!"  Yet, this year was a tad different, because it was THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL.  EVER!  The final graduation.  The end of an era.  The closing of a super, amazing, phenomenal environmental school. The Baltimore Sun wrote a very nice article about it Friday morning.   I've written about the upcoming closing many-a-times here.  The closing of a 58 year institution in our community...that time has finally arrived.  It was a beautiful day, which only added to the bittersweet-ness of the entire event.  We've had many special celebrations, both on a large & even small-scale family-front [we went canoeing off-shore of the school yesterday as a family].  We've had (& will have a few more) meals & gatherings as a staff, and a community gala event of alumni, board members, current and past families, friends, faculty, and students of the school.  The tears and tissues and memories have been many.  We will deeply miss this photogenic and authentic li'l Maryland "Green School" campus and community of ours.

• Friday, June 6th also held another important environmental event.  Our Head of School, during the graduation ceremony, announced that yes, although our doors our closing, we not only received our 2nd four-year re-certification as a Maryland "Green School" this year, but we also were the recipients of another honor.  We also received the highest level--the international level--award issued from World Wildlife Fund/National Wildlife Federation's Eco-Schools.  62 other schools worldwide fly the flag that my "partner in green" and I are holding here.  It's definitely an odd sensation to be held in such environmental high esteem, yet to be a school that is ceasing to exist.  Such a high compliment to our program, our curriculum, and the entire culture of the school.  We could do all of that, yet despite all of that, the one thing we couldn't quite capture was financial sustainability to keep the school going forth.  Big sigh.  

As one of the graduating fifth graders wrote in his speech that he delivered on Friday:   "Do not cry for the loss, but smile because it happened." (Quote by Dr. Seuss.)  Thank you Eagle Cove School (formerly Gibson Island Country School) for happening, and for 7 amazing years of memories.  I will hold those memories of my students, my own children, and my crew of incredible ECS colleagues always dear to my heart.  May we all go forth to our new schools, spreading our wings like the eagles we're named after, and spreading what's in our hearts like 100 or so little "green" minions!  In many ways, it circles right back to the heart of the mission of World Environment Day.

World Environment Day Logo from http://www.eeaa.gov.eg/english/main/wed2014.asp

ECS School sign picture taken by Josh Hubbell

ECS Eco School Flag pic from my camera.

Goodbye, Wangari Maathai, Part One

On September 25th, sadness struck the environmental community. That was the day, last week, when Wangari Maathai passed away at the age of 71. In today's age, 71 isn't all that old, which leads to greater sadness.

Who was Wangari Maathai? Beyond being an environmentalist, she was a scientist, a professor, a teacher, a mother, a leader, a social justice/human rights activist, a peacemaker, and a Nobel Peace Laureate (in fact, the 1st black African Woman to do so). Additionally, she was the founder of the Green Belt Movement.

Imagine living the life of Wangari: Imagine a former day when your homeland was a beautiful tree-shaded country. Imagine leaving for several years to get your education, then coming back to find your homeland devoid of those lush trees, replaced by wilted & deteriorated plant life, with no shade for the harvest due to the blazing sun. Imagine wanting to do something about it.…then imagine doing it! This was the life of 2004’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wangari Maathai.

On June 5, 1977 on World Environment Day, after being in America for 6 years for schooling, Wangari gave birth to what was to become Kenya’s Green Belt Movement. It all started with the planting of trees, one at a time, along with encouragement to the women of her village. These women began following Wangari’s lead. This symbolic birth of one tree being set into the ground by one woman has become 30,000,000+ trees and many women over time. It brought pride & prosperity to the women of Kenya during a turbulent time of women’s rights in Africa. What a classic example of how one small move can end up resulting in something huge, something that can make a powerful impact.

What a classic example of a remarkable lady!!

Picture from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15060167

Team WED 2011

WED?  Wednesday?  Nope.

WED = World Environment Day ~ June 5, 2011

What is this, you ask?   

An annual, global event to promote environmental action.  Of course we want to do this year round (just the same with Earth Day), but sometimes we need those "kick in the pants" days of remembrance to get us in gear.  A time honored tradition since 1972 from the United Nation's Environment Program.  (http://www.unep.org/wed/about/)

This year's theme?   

"Forest:  Nature at Your Service."  Forests cover 1/3 of our landmasses...so to the masses, we need to take care of them. To learn more about the importance of forests to each and every one of us, go to http://www.unep.org/wed/theme/.

This year's host country?  

India.  With 1.2 billion people, they're taking special aim to lessen the pressure that the dense population puts on the forests...so it's a good fit this year given the theme!  (Galore more India info @ http://www.unep.org/wed/news/hostcountry.asp)

So TEAM WED?  

Nope, we're not talking "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob."  Instead, we're talking Team Gisele Bundchen and Team Don Cheadle, the two Goodwill Ambassadors who are urging all to get involved by taking action, doing something for our planet, and registering your action...for every item registered, they are planting trees!  Watch this video to get caught up in the "team" spirit, then pick a "team" for yourself!!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PsudPXXn00&feature=relmfu)

More Wonderful WED Finds:

For an amazing short WED informative film, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, click here 

http://www.unep.org/flvPlayer/share/default.asp?id=3291&l=en

(Darn and drat:  I wanted to embed it here yet kept experiencing technical difficulties--it's truly worth your clicking time!!)

From A-Z: Ways you can help the Earth, in alphabetical order!!

http://www.unep.org/wed/A-Z/

So, what are you doing June 5th??

Video & Images from http://www.unep.org/wed/