Earth Day with the Sierra Club
By Brooke Murray
@Brooke.froelich
www.brookefroelich.com
We try to get outside with our children as often as we can. Eating lunch at the neighborhood pond, meeting friends for early morning hikes, or biking on the dirt roads alongside the river after work as a family. On days that we spend our free time outside, our children just seem to be more at ease. Tatum (our baby) stops fussing and attentively listens to the birds in the trees. And Huck shouts with excitement when he find beaver teeth marks in the trees, or a spider egg sac in a bush. As a parent, I love seeing their flushed cheeks, and their faces luminescing from the light of the setting sun. The more time we spend outside, the more I understand that the health of my children is connected to the health of our planet.
The truth is, this beautiful planet might not look the same when my children are in their 20s. They might not ever have the privilege of taking their own children fishing. What’s more, they might have to work harder to find air that is safe to breathe, or water that is safe to drink. More than ever, our planet needs our help. While my family is making the changes that we can in our home, we are also grateful to support the work of the Sierra Club as they strive to protect our Earth.
#EarthDay
You’ve seen it all over social media: “#Earthday” next to a photo of a beautiful corner of the world. It doesn’t seem to matter where we stand politically, we ALL love to celebrate our beautiful earth. More importantly, whether we acknowledge it or not, all of us depend on the health of our planet. While it’s great to get out and explore, or give Mother Earth a shout out on social media, Earth Day is all about spreading awareness to environmental issues that we are currently facing. More importantly, Earth Day is about mobilizing action towards some of these issues.
History of Earth Day
After a devastating oil spill in 1969, Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day to help bring attention to environmental matters. Over 20 million Americans rallied in support of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. More recently, Earth Day has been a time to educate and invigorate activity around climate change, clean energy, and pollution. Earth Day is a great call to action for people all over the world to become more aware and to work together towards taking better care of the earth.
Leave No Trace Practices:
When we get outside in beautiful places with our children, it’s important that we make sure we are leaving as little trace as possible. Involving your little ones in learning about a new area you are exploring, collecting trash, staying on trail, and not disturbing wildlife are a few fun ways to involve them. Bring a few small bags, and make it a competition to collect a few pieces of trash! At the end of the day, the goal is to empower our children towards being more friendly to the environment. Knowledge is power- teaching them young will instill a lifetime of stewardship.
Sierra Club
This Earth Day the Sierra Club is raising funds for all the work they do. They strive to protect our land/ water/ air, to save animals from extinction, provide cleaner/cheaper energy, and to make the outdoors accessible for everybody. While you probably know that John Muir helped found the Sierra Club to protect the environment, many people do not realize the entire scope of what the Sierra Club works to do. Not only does the Sierra Club organize recreational activities and help to teach skills and invite more people outdoors, but they also lobby politicians to support environmental policies. They work hard to enable others to get outside and to protect these beautiful spaces. Supporting the Sierra Club is a great way to help care for our planet. Let’s support them!
Join us in celebrating Earth Day with the Sierra Club
This Earth Day we are hosting hikes and cleanups to help support the Sierra Club. Check out our Team Sierra page to see if there is an event near you. If there is not an event near you, please feel free to “join our team” and start your own! We also encourage you to use your extra dollar to support agencies that you believe in. Even a small donation makes a difference. Want to sweeten the deal? Donate $35 and score your own “Earth Day” shirt to remind yourself that every day can be earth day.
The Sierra Club’s mission is “To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.” Thank you for all you do to care for our planet!
