Earth Day 2021 – Restore Our Earth
What is Earth Day?
Today (22nd April) we are celebrating the 51st Earth Day along with individuals and communities around the world. Since its inception in 1970 in the United States, Earth Day focuses on galvanising action on environmental issues and climate change. Earth Day is the largest civic observance in the world. Over 1 billion people spread across 192 countries participate in Earth Day activities each year.
Earth Day is an opportunity to activate and educate on environmental issues and shine a spotlight on environmental justice. Working to provide a healthy, clean and sustainable environment for humans and biodiversity to thrive and secure the future of our planet as a whole.
Of course, we believe Earth Day should be every day! Here at Babipur we are passionate about our environment, oceans, biodiversity and our planet. Together we can unite to make the world a better place for all living things. As individuals we yield real power and influence. Our habits as consumers, voting choices and as members of a community can make a huge difference.
Restore Our Earth
This years Earth Day theme is Restore Our Earth. This last year has shown us just how fragile our Earth and ecosystems are. The global pandemic, environmental degradation and climate change have been pushed to the forefront of people’s minds. There is an opportunity to drive forward the restoration of our planet, after-all we are an integral part of it.
“We must Restore Our Earth not just because we care about the natural world, but because we live on it. Every one of us needs a healthy Earth to support our jobs, livelihoods, health & survival, and happiness. A healthy planet is not an option — it is a necessity.” EarthDay.org
So what does restoration of our Earth look like? How can we take part? Lets take a look at some ways we can all take part in Earth Day and commit to climate and environmental action.
Climate and Environmental Literacy
It’s never too early to talk about climate change and the environment with children. They will after-all be the ones who will be most affected by the crisis our planet is facing. They will be at the forefront of developing the science to monitor the progress of climate change and technologies needed to live more sustainably.
How do we prepare them for this task? A global climate education programme will help prepare the next generation for work within the growing green economy, as well as making more sustainable consumer choices. The global youth climate strikes have shown what a powerful force youth activism can have in raising awareness.
Coyote’s Soundbite
We can raise awareness of climate and environmental issues at home too. Choose a diverse range of age appropriate books on climate, the environment, biodiversity and plastic pollution. We have a great range of books here at Babipur on a range of environmental subjects including a new book from Lantana publishing.
Coyote’s Soundbite: A Poem for Our Planet is a poem by John Agard (author) and Piet Grobler (illustrator). A book with a strong environmental message as we face the unprecedented global emergency of climate breakdown. A perfect celebration for Earth Day, this book will help children to understand this message in an accessible, fun and engaging way. Find out more about this fab new book over on our blog post >HERE<.
Foodprints and Regenerative Farming
These are two things we are going to be hearing a lot more of in the months to come. A foodprint is a measurement of environmental impact a food item has. This takes into account the natural resources used, pollution and emissions from growing, producing, storing and transporting our food. Regenerative farming in simple terms improves soil health, reduces erosion and increases a soils carbon sequestering capacity.
What we eat and how we produce it has a huge impact on the planet. There are simple ways we can reduce our impact, by choosing a more plant-based diet, eating seasonally, locally and organically, and reducing food waste. Celebrate Earth Day with a delicious plant based take on your favourite meal. Or try using up those past their best veggies in the bottom of the fridge in a soup or curry.
The cotton we grow for clothing also has a huge impact on our environment, soil health, and the health of the growers and workers within the industry. By choosing GOTS organic cotton, we can lessen this impact. Patagonia are going a step further and testing Regenerative Organic practices with cotton farmers in India. By using organic, no- and low-till practices they are aiming to build healthy soil and draw carbon back into the ground.
A Global Clean-up
There are some sombre facts with regards to our global waste production (cleanup.earthday.org):
- 270,000 premature deaths annually caused by the uncontrolled burning of household waste
- 2 billion people live without any waste collection services
- 79% of all plastics ever produced residing in landfill or in the natural environment
So what can we do to help? Reducing our consumption of single-use plastics is obviously a big one which we have covered extensively in our blogs which you can find >HERE<.
How about organising a litter pick? You can go as an organised group or on your own. All you need is a good pair of gloves, litter picker, a bag and a high visibility jacket is a good idea if you are on the roadside. Children really love getting involved in a litter pick. This could be at the local park, your favourite walk or local beach. Keep Britain Tidy has some good advice on how to stay safe while on a litter pick, and you can get involved with The Big British Spring Clean 28 May – 13 June 2021, you can find out more >HERE<.
Environmental restoration
New research suggests that only 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact (The Guardian April 15 2021) . These are areas of undisturbed habitat with healthy populations of all its original animals. What is left of our wild places is fragmented and under increased pressure for its valuable resources. By restoring our natural environments, we not only provide safe spaces for wildlife, but maintain a healthy environment for ourselves.
There are many charities and organisations promoting tree planting. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of mitigating climate change. The right trees need to be grown in the right places, and people need to be put at the heart of these planting projects. Just One Tree is a good reforesting project and the Eden Reforestation Projects.
If you have a garden, there are lots of smaller native trees that are good for small gardens. You could simply leave an area to grow long grass or a few clumps of nettles to help wildlife thrive. Seedboms are perfect for adding colour and pollinator friendly flowers to your garden. They can even be grown in pots and window boxes if you don’t have a garden.
Earth Day Celebrations
We hope this has inspired you to have fun this Earth Day and celebrate this wonderful planet we call home. Despite the overwhelming pressures our planet is facing, we can all do something to help protect our Earth. Together we can make a big impact.
We love to hear how you are celebrating Earth Day; share your pictures and thoughts with our community! Tag @Babipur on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Or you can share your pictures with the Babipur community in our Facebook group, Babipur Hangout!