On April 22 each year since 1970, we celebrate Earth Day, a day to appreciate and be aware of our environment and the Earth. Earth Day has now expanded to include the entire month of April as Earth Month.
In honor of Earth Day in 2016, as set forth on Wikipedia, “the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other countries. This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic draft climate protection treaty adopted by consensus of the 195 nations present at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris.”
CELEBRATE AND LEARN
It is easy to celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month. Do as much or as little as you wish. Look outside and appreciate the trees and plants. Hug a tree, which supposedly has health and wellness benefits. Do remember to conserve water and electricity, and even for one day, turn off the lights and faucets.
PLANT A TREE AND DONATIONS
Plant a tree with your grandchildren. It is wonderful to go to a nursery and learn about trees that will thrive in your area and plant the tree with the grandchildren. You can donate a tree to be planted in an American national forest at The Trees Remember. “The Trees Remember works through non-profit conservation groups who are planting trees in U.S. National Forests, on public land which has been destroyed by forest fires, insects, etc. Planting areas are selected by the U.S. Forest Service and the trees are planted where they are needed most to once again create a verdant and balanced environment.”
The Conservation Fund is a fund that works to protect our environment and forests. You can make a donation in honor of Earth Day.
LEARN ABOUT THE 2018 EARTH DAY THEME ABOUT THE HARM OF PLASTICS
You will be joining over a billion participants in the world who will be celebrating not only April 22, but all month. This year, special attention is being placed on the issue of plastics in our oceans and in our environment. Learn about what is happening and what you can do at the Earth Day website which educates us as follows:
“From poisoning and injuring marine life to disrupting human hormones, from littering our beaches and landscapes to clogging our waste streams and landfills, the exponential growth of plastics is now threatening the survival of our planet. In response, Earth Day 2018 is dedicated to providing the information and inspiration needed to fundamentally change human attitude and behavior about plastics.”
ENCOURAGE OUTSIDE PLAY
One thing we grandparents can do is encourage outside play. Children now spend less than an hour a day playing outside. Take a look at this on line pamphlet from the Canadian website that provided the statistic and is dedicated to educating children about Earth Day and Earth Month as to how to encourage outdoor play for grandchildren and why.
MAKE CRAFTS AND COLOR AND PLAY
PBS Parents website has easy Earth Day or Earth Month crafts to make with grandchildren.
Another child oriented website with coloring pages, games, puzzles, and more that we can run off for free on our printers for our grandchildren is dltl-kids.com.
SOLAR LIGHTS AND DONATIONS
When Grandpa and I were in Africa, we purchased a solar light that is used in remote areas with no electricity. You can buy it on line.
There are much more modern and fancy solar lights to decorate the interior and exterior of our homes. Check out the Guggenheim Museum Store.
We grandparents can educate our American grandchildren about how fortunate they are to have the advantages of living with electricity and resources to make our lives easier. In Africa, where when we purchased the solar light, one was donated to someone in need, and the website for Luci Lights also does that. Buy a solar light for your grandchild on the website, and Luci Lights sends one to someone in need. They say they send “lights to over 100 countries since we started in 2012, affecting over 2.6 million lives. Our nonprofit partners use Give Luci lights for life-saving search & rescue missions, disaster relief, improving community health and safety, education initiatives and families who live without access to electricity.” Another website to check out with your grandchildren is Solar Aid. Look at the websites and the pictures with your grandchildren.
BOOKS
Buy a book about Earth Day for your grandchildren. “I Am Earth: An Earth Day Book for Kids,” by James McDonald, is a best seller on Amazon.
There are many other Earth Day titles on Amazon to explore.
Continue the love of nature into May. Now get ready for National Love a Tree Day on May 16!
Joy,
Mema
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