Earth Day 2023

Audio Article

“The Earth is what we all have in common ~Wendell Berry.

Earth Day is among the global initiatives that seek to conserve and protect the Earth. The annual event strives to raise awareness of the importance of protecting the Earth’s natural resources and bringing positive change on a global level. The holiday encourages individuals, governments, businesses, and communities worldwide to act and help preserve the Earth.

Our planet needs healing. Thankfully, there is an increase in global initiatives seeking to preserve the planet today for future generations to come.

What is Earth Day, and why is it important?

Earth Day is an annual holiday that occurs on April 22 to honor Earth’s environmental diversity and raise awareness of the need to protect our planet’s natural resources for future generations. In addition, the holiday strives to educate us on how to be part of the change through community involvement and minor life adjustments.

The holiday is essential since it raises awareness of environmental issues affecting the planet and signals the government representatives on what actions they should take. The celebrations help us reflect on the importance of a clean and healthy planet and what we can do to achieve this. Earth Day celebrations have influenced significant national policy changes and will continue to do so.

Earth Day 2023 Theme: “Invest in our Planet!”

According to the global organizer of Earth Day and the leading recruiter of environmental movements globally, EARTHDAY.ORG (EDO), the theme for Earth Day 2023 is “Invest in Our Planet.” 

How do we invest in our planet?

We can overcome the climate crisis if we work together to invest in our planet and commit to action to improve our collective future. Here are ways we can support our planet:

1.  Invest in renewable energy and improve energy efficiency to reduce emissions, have more energy accessibility, enhance the quality of air, and preserve a healthy planet.
2.  Invest in electric vehicles, green hydrogen instead of fuel, and zero-emissions shipping to improve air quality and reduce pollution.
3. Buy from local food systems and farmers since they use crop rotation and diversification, alternative pest and weed control methods, and cover crops.
4.  Work together as a community to make our surroundings greener and cleaner and embrace renewable energy for a better future.

10 Quick Facts about the Earth Day

1. Earth Day was conceived by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1969 after witnessing deadly smog, pesticides, and the California oil spill aftermath.
2. The first Earth Day occurred on April 22, 1970, when 10% of the American population (20 million Americans) united to demonstrate the importance of protecting the planet.
3. Senator Nelson and Denis Hayes chose the date to appeal to more students since it fell between final exams and spring break.
4.  Other nations recognize the holiday as “International Mother Earth Day.”
5.   The government responded to Earth Day’s messages with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Endangered Species, Clean Water, and Clean Air Acts.
6.  Earth Day celebrations went global in 1990 when there was a mobilization of 200 million people from 11 countries.
7. Today, over 192 nations worldwide recognize and commemorate Earth Day yearly, with a billion people involved.
8.  Environmental organizations and scientists believe that addressing climate change is more urgent today than before due to the widespread environmental problems.
9. Everyone can participate in the Earth Day celebration through various sustainability measures and pledges.
10.  The Earth Day theme changes each year, with 2023’s theme being “Invest in our Planet.”

20 Exciting Earth Day Activities for Kids

1. Connect with Nature

There is no better way to celebrate Earth Day than by encouraging your kids to take a break from screens and connect with nature. It will be fun to walk through a local park where they will observe wildlife and watch birds in natural habitats. They may also develop a love for nature as they come into contact with water, insects, animals, trees, and plants.

Your kids can also connect with nature by playing outsides and getting dirty. Allow them to jump in puddles, build forts, roll over logs and rocks looking for worms and bugs, and pick pinecones, leaves, and sticks. Such activities stimulate their senses through sounds, sights, and textures.  

2. Gardening

Gardening is enjoyable for people of all ages and is particularly healthy and fun for children. It can involve varying activities such as weeding, planting, mulching, and cooking. Gardening also allows kids to learn about nature and science relaxed and informally. You don’t need a large or perfectly level backyard; you can grow plants in containers or a small raised bed.

Here are more benefits of gardening for kids:

• It improves self-esteem and mood and reduces stress levels.
• It facilitates higher levels of exercise while encouraging kids to use creativity and their imagination.
•  Gardening gets children closer to nature, especially when they plant their favorite plants, like herbs and flowers.
• It encourages children to eat healthily and to learn how food is grown.
• Gardening stimulates all the senses as the kids interact with different plants, seeds, and soil. They feel, see, and smell different flowers, herbs, plants, or herbs.
• It also allows you to bond with your children and enjoy nature together.

3. Plant Trees

Researchers estimate that about 15 billion trees worldwide are cut down annually. You can offset this loss by planting trees during the commemoration of Earth Day. Planting trees is an excellent way to improve our planet since they release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide from our environment. Trees also provide shelter and food to numerous animals.

4. Take a Virtual Field Trip

You can spend this year’s Earth Day traveling the world with your kids without leaving your house. Travel virtually to places like the Amazon rainforest or the Great Barrier Reef to view the effects of deforestation and climate change. You could also visit national parks virtually to learn about different ecosystems. Your virtual field trip is free, no matter your chosen destination.

Here are some  virtual reality field trips suggestions:

• Amazon Rainforest
• Take a trip to Grand Canyon.
• Explore the Eiffel Tower
• Take your kids virtually to the Times Squire.
• Enjoy a virtual reality experience by taking a trip to Mount Everest.
• Spark a conversation with your kids about earth layers by exploring Hawaii.

5. Bake Earth Day Cookies     

Did you know that baking gives kids a real sense of achievement? Not only will they have fun baking Earth Day cookies, but they will also enjoy eating them. Help your kids bake their favorite sugar cookie recipe and make it fit for the occasion by tinting half the batch green and the other blue. You can access numerous free Earth Day Cookie recipes from the internet.

Benefits of baking with your kids:

• Baking allows kids to improve their motor skills, such as developing stronger muscles and better eye and hand coordination.
• Children improve their communication skills and mathematical language during baking.
• They can also learn math and do some science experiments during baking.

6. Play Earth Day Scavenger Hunt

Kids love scavenger hunts for the obvious reason; It is an outdoor and interactive game. How about you let your children step outside when it begins to warm up to search for natural items in the backyard? Please provide them with magnifying glass to thoroughly scrutinize the environment and a clipboard to record all their findings.

The woods are among the best places to complete an Earth Day scavenger hunt. Give every child a container or bag and ask them to find the following things.

1. A pinecone
2. A flat rock
3. A ‘Y’ shaped stick
4. A seed or ` a nut
5. Some moss
6. A small fern
7.   A feather
8. A piece of trash
9.  A long grass
10. A thorn

7. Limit Water Usage

Did you know that only 1% of the water on Earth can be used for human consumption? Did you also know that 1 in 10 people lack access to clean water? That’s not all; researchers state that 2.2 million Americans lack running water and basic indoor plumbing, while 44 million others lack adequate water systems. This shows you why teaching your kids how to use water effectively is crucial.

Tips for limiting water usage may include:

• Turning off the faucet when brushing teeth
• Taking shorter shower
• Use a bucket and sponge over the hose when washing bikes and cars.
• Water the yard in the early morning rather than when it is hot.

8. Visit a Recycling Plant

Recycling is a vital part of building sustainable environmental care. Children should learn about recycling because they are part of the future, and there is no better place to learn than in a recycling plant. You can call a local recycling plant in advance to determine if they will host visitors during this year’s Earth Day celebration. You don’t have to worry about the cost since many recycling centers offer free tours and education to visitors. This educative field trip will help your kids understand and appreciate the waste management’s three Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).

9. Create Organic Compost

How do you dispose of your kitchen waste? You don’t have to throw them in the garbage. Composting is an aerobic method used to decompose organic solid waste that is later used to enrich the soil. Teach your kids to create organic compost by collecting vegetable peels and stale foods in a bin that can be used to make the compost. Remember to add worms to the compost bin and regularly aerate it to allow oxygen and the growth of aerobic bacteria.

Let your kids understand how compost benefits the soil by improving its physical, biological, and physical characteristics. Here are more benefits of making organic compost and using it in your garden:

• It improves microbial activity
• It improves soil fertility
• It  suppresses plant diseases
•  It suppresses the bioavailability o heavy metals
• It boosts the soil’s ability to retain water
• It improves the texture of clayey soils.

10. Donate Clothes and Old Stuff to Charity

One of the best ways to celebrate Earth Day and create a sustainable environment is donating clothes and old stuff to charity. Not only will your family bring joy to the receivers, but the donation will also reduce the rate of landfills and environmental pollution. You can also encourage your children to begin an old clothes collection drive in school or the neighborhood to get more people involved.

11. Create Paper Mache

A paper mache activity can be an excellent and fun way to recycle paper. Ask your children to gather some magazines or newspaper strips; mix them with a paste of water and flour to make paper mache masks.

12. Hunt Bugs in the Backyard

Finding and studying bugs is an easy and enjoyable nature activity for kids of all ages. You can either buy bug catchers or have your kids make their own. The hunting kit allows the kids to run around in the backyard to find and capture different kinds of bugs. In every capture, help them to study the bug and how it affects the environment before setting it free.

13. Listen to Pro-Environment Songs

Find songs about the Earth and how it has changed over the years to set Earth Day’s celebration mood. Here are some suggestions:

1. Jack Johnson: “The 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle).”
2. Joan Baez: Rejoice In The Sun (1971)
3. Bo Diddley: Pollution (1971)
4. John Denver: Earth Day Every Day (Celebrate) (1990)
5. The Beach Boys: “Don’t Go Near the Water” (1971)
6. Tom Lehrer: Pollution (1965)
7. Beatles: Mother Nature’s Son (1968)
8. Will.i.am: “SOS (Mother Nature).”
9. The Eagles: “The Last Resort”
10. Bob Marley: Sun Is Shining (1978)

14. Read

Find books about nature, the environment, and actions that we should take to make the world better, and get your kids reading them during the Earth Day holiday. Later discuss with them the materials they read. Check out the following list of nonfiction books about caring for our planet:

1. Girls Who Green the World by Diana Kapp
2. Curious George Plants a Tree by Margret and H.A. Rey
3. The Earth and I by Frank Asch
4. Olivia’s Birds: Saving the Gulf by Olivia Bouler
5. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
6. Green to Gold by Andrew S. Winston and Daniel C. Esty
7. Inconspicuous Consumption  by  Tatiana Schlossberg
8. The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole
9. The Earth Book by Todd Parr
10. No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta Thunberg

15. Watch Documentaries about Earth

Documentaries are a good alternative to books because they help us better understand and visualize overwhelming issues such as climate change. You can access  numerous Earth-centric  documentaries on the internet

16. Clean up your Local Park

Cleanups give us an amazing way to connect with nature and show appreciation for our environment. Visit a local park with your kids, each carrying a trash bag, and collect any plastic. You could also clean up drainages and nearby ditches polluted with plastics. Importantly, you can recycle some of the plastics, thus reducing landfills.

17. Attend an Earth Day Event

Do you want your children to embrace Earth Day and become climate change activists? There is no better way to do it than attending an Earth Day event. This platform will allow them to interact with other Earth lovers and climate change activists. There are so many Earth Day events to choose from; visit the official Earth Day website to view a list of events.

 18. Go for a Family Bike Ride

 Cycling is one of the best ways to repress your carbon footprint.   Reducing the number of cars on the road translates to lesser carbon emissions that contribute to more global warming and air pollution. You can also take public transportation when going to work if you don’t have a bike or don’t know how to ride one.

19. Purchase Reusable Bags

Researchers state that Americans use up to 100 billion plastic bags per year. The production of these bags requires approximately 12 million barrels of oil. Besides, they cause distress to marine animals and contribute a lot to landfills. How about you buy some stylish and eco-friendly reusable bags on Earth Day and gift them to your family and friends as an initiative to save our planet?

20. Make a Bird Shelter or Feeder

This Earth Day, your kids’ creativity can go wild by creating a shelter for birds that visit your backyard. Please encourage them to recycle materials such as milk cartons, soda bottles, or other eco-friendly materials.

15 Earth Day Quotes to Celebrate Our Planet

1. “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”— Robert Swan
2. “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” —Native American Proverb
3. “He that plants trees loves others besides himself.” —Thomas Fuller
4. “We are made from Mother Earth, and we go back to Mother Earth.” —Anonymous
5. Together we can preserve the forest, securing this immense treasure for the future of all these children.”— Chico Mendes
6. “If every day were Earth Day, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in.”— Neil deGrasse Tyson
7. “If the environment is happy, people will laugh, and your grief will go away.”― Srinivas Mishra
8. “There is no medicine you can take that has such a direct influence on your health as a walk in a beautiful forest.” —Dr. Qing Li
9. “If you can’t be in awe of Nature, there’s something wrong with you.” —Alex Trebek
10. “An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfillment.” —David Attenborough
11. “Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you.” —Aboriginal Proverb
12. “We still do not know one-thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” —Albert Einstein
13. “Every day is Earth Day, and I vote we start investing in a secure climate future right now.” —Jackie Speier
14. “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.” —Gandhi
15. “Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries.” —Jimmy Carter

Frequently Asked Questions:

Our Final Thought

At Kids on the Yard, we believe our beautiful planet was created for children to desire, seek, create, make, pursue, and be heroes while experiencing a continuous journey to fulfillment, including the child that still lives inside us all. As such, we support and advocate for change around our planet’s issues.

Besides advocating for sustainable environmental changes for the sake of future generations, we are committed to providing the best 21^st-century tutoring services. We believe that revealing every student’s tremendous potential doesn’t just change a life; it changes their lives permanently by becoming equipped with tools to move forward, thus adding significant value to the world.

Learn more about our programs by calling or sending an SMS Toll-free: 844 902 4242.

Happy Earth Day from the entire Kids on the Yard team!