When I was teaching, we celebrated Earth Day in a big way. There were different iterations over the years. When my best friend took it over, it became stellar! She would spend weeks, setting up speakers and activities for all of the kids to do. For a couple of years, it was the entire day. Of course, we had those teachers who complained they weren’t getting enough time with their students to accomplish anything. They were also the teachers who ended Halloween parties and the Halloween party, of course! But, I digress.
The day…
The one thing all the teachers loved was being able to wear jeans or shorts if it was warm enough. By that time, we all had Roanoke tees or sweatshirts so we would wear those, too. Kristin, my bestie, would organize several different speakers. One that I always remembered was the woman who took in injured birds and rehabilitated them. She would release them back into the wild if at all possible. She would come and speak about a particular kind of bird or group of birds. I loved when she talked about owls and kestrels. Then, if we were lucky, she’d bring one of her avian friends with her and demonstrate different things about that bird. This would be a bird that wasn’t able to be released and had become, basically, domesticated through years of living with her.
Space…
This isn’t about outer space but about the space in which this all happened. Each classroom would be assigned a speaker or activity. When I was a special education teacher, I would be placed in a classroom with an activity to teach the kids. That way, the teachers moved with their classrooms. Kristin also planned outside activities that could be transferred to the gym, if necessary. Again, some teachers grumbled about their classrooms getting messed up because desks or tables would have to be moved out of the way. I tell ya…some people are never happy! I didn’t have to worry about that when I was a spec ed teacher as I only had a little bitty room or a closet if I was lucky. When I taught fourth grade (best grade ever), I’d have my kids get the furniture arranged the afternoon before so there wasn’t any mayhem the next morning…hahaha!! There was always mayhem in my classroom…mainly caused by me!
Parents…
We had very involved parents at Roanoke. They would show up for anything and everything. If you were lucky, you got parents who would actually help. If you weren’t, you’d get the moms who would group together and talk smack about this, that, and the other thing! Think I’m kidding? Not in the least! The worst thing was they would try to get you (meaning me) involved in their gossip. That was always tough because I didn’t want to ignore those parents (they had quite the network), but in no way did I want to partake in their conversations. If I did that, then y’all know what would happen, right? “Well, Mrs. Banks said…” So, it was a fine line you had to walk with parents. For the most part, though, we had wonderful parents. Ask for a dozen cookies, and you’d get three dozen, intricately frosted and delicious! For Earth Day, some would even man the different stations. Some of them even had expertise in one field or another.
Earth Day…
So, what is Earth Day anyway? Well, it all started back in 1962 when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. “The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries as it raised public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and the inextricable links between pollution and public health. Just seven years later, an oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara drew the attention of the junior Senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson. “Inspired by the student anti-war movement, Senator Nelson wanted to infuse the energy of student anti-war protests with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a teach-in on college campuses to the national media, and persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair.”
A little more…
Nelson persuaded a young activist named Denis Hayes to organize campus teach-ins as well as figuring out ways to reach a broader audience. The duo chose April 22 because it was a weekday that fell between Spring Break and Final Exams. They hoped that date would maximize the involvement of the students on various campuses. Eventually, Hayes built a national staff of 85 people. They promoted activities and events all across the country. Their efforts soon included all kinds of organizations, faith groups, and others. They changed the name to Earth Day. This, of course, caught the media’s attention and inspired 20 million Americans (10% of the population of the US at that time) “to demonstrate against the impacts of 150 years of industrial development which had left a growing legacy of serious human health impacts.”
Still more…
During that time, there had been several groups fighting against oil spills, pollution from factories and power plants, raw sewage being dumped into rivers and streams, and so much more. That first day was a remarkable day for several reasons including “support from both Republican and Democrats as well as rich and poor, urban dwellers and farmers, business and labor leaders.” That first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency as well as the passage of “other first-of-their-kind environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. Two years later congress passed the Clean Water Act.”
Finally…
While the original Earth Day was held in the United States, the movement for cleaning up the planet soon became international. During the 1980s, international policies were being changed. Environmental leaders wanted Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign for the entire planet in 1990. And, that’s when Earth Day went global, “mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest honor given to civilians in the United States — for his role as Earth Day founder.” You can read so much more here.
Source…
The outfit…
It isn’t often these days that I wear just a dress with some jewelry. But, when the dress is as unique and fun as this one is, there’s no need for anything extra! Let me introduce you to the Lexi Dress in Murphy Seersucker from Tulip Clothing! I was thrilled when Debbie reached out to me on Instagram and asked me to pick out a couple of things. She didn’t ask for anything in return. When something ticks all the boxes, though, you want to share it, right? First, this dress is easy peasy. Just slip it on over your head. No messing with zippers or buttons or anything. Second, it has that funky handkerchief kinda hemline that makes my heart beat just a little faster. Next, it has this really cool stitching in the front…kinda like pintucking that creates such an unusual silhouette and movement. Then, it has pockets. Now, you do have to search for them because they’re blended so well into the dress. It’s seersucker, my friends! Seersucker!!! Let’s make that a trend, shall we? Oh, and did I mention it has pockets? Could you zhuzh it up a bit? You sure could, but I don’t know why you’d want to! Although, I could see wearing it this fall with a long sleeve tee and leggings or tights underneath.
The Lewk!
This may be the third or fourth summer for these Willow sandals from Eileen Fisher. I bought mine at Nordstrom, but they don’t have them online anymore. They are spendy, but I think my CPW is very low because I wear them all the time in the spring and summer. They are a good neutral as well as being super comfortable. Everything else is on its repeat years, too. The necklaces are from J Jill. I seem to always wear these together. The earrings are from the museum gift shop.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I try to do my part to help our planet. I drive a small car that gets good gas mileage. I recycle almost everything. Our garbage can is rarely even a quarter of the way full. I try to buy things that aren’t over packaged. And, because I’m cheap, I turn the heat down and the AC up. I think, given that leaders around the globe can’t get their acts together, it’s up to all of us to do our parts. That’s what led to so much change back in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. So, can we talk? Do you celebrate Earth Day? What activities have you participated in? What do you do to help our planet? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as quickly as I can.
Thank you!
Thank you so very much for reading today’s post. I hope you enjoyed it. I also very much appreciate those of you who comment, email and/or subscribe. It’s what keeps me going! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
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Thank you Marsha, I was unaware of the origins to Earth Day.