How You Can Get Involved: There are hundreds of ways for you to get involved in Earth Day this year. Visit our Earth Day 2011 page for a full breakdown of programming. Want to get started right now? We recommend that you organize an Earth Day Event in your community or attend an event near you, and pledge an Act of Green. You can event check out an environmentally themed movie, like Mia and the Migoo.
Earth Day 2011 Highlights
• Large Earth Day events in 17 of the largest U.S. cities, including St. Louis, San Francisco, Dallas, and New York anticipate thousands of people often over multiple days. Volunteer service is sweeping the across the world, with cities such as Columbus, OH expecting over 4,000 people to plant community gardens, clean up riverbanks and remove invasive vegetation from parks.
• Over 150 cities and towns in India are holding Earth Day events, with an enthusiasm rivaling the very first Earth Day in 1970. Earth Day India 2011 partners include the million-member trade union Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and the Center for Environment Education's Paryavaran Mitra Project. SEWA, founded in 1972 by noted Gandhian and civil rights leader Dr. Ela Bhatt, is coordinating Earth Day events in 10 districts of western India, while the Center is creating “Environment Friends” (Paryavaran Mitras) in 100 schools nationwide. The Center is also working with one of India's largest public sector companies, the Steel Authority of India.
Buy as little as possible and avoid items that come in lots of packaging. Support local growers and producers of food and products - these don't have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Take your drink container with you, and don't use any disposable plates or cutlery. Recycle all the things you do use for the day or find other uses for things that you no longer use. Carry a cloth bag for carrying things in and recycle your plastic bags.
Get children to recycle their old toys and games. By giving their old toys and games to younger children who could make use of them, older children learn two lessons: One is about giving to others and the second is about reusing and recycling instead of throwing things away. Adults can also do this with clothes, electrical items, books and more.
Hold an Earth Day fair. Maybe your school, your street, your local neighborhood is interested in getting together to have an environmental fair. Things to have at the fair include demonstrations of environmentally-friendly products, children's artwork, healthy/locally grown foods to eat, animal care demonstrations, games for the children made of recycled products, musicians and actors performing environmental music and skits, stalls which are recycling unwanted treasures and books, local environmental organisations presenting their issues and wares. Money raised can go towards a local environmental restoration project or to an environmental group agreed upon by all the participants running the fair.
Teach others about the environment. Teachers, professionals, students, in fact anyone who cares about the environment and is willing to teach others, can all provide environmental lessons for others. Most schools already celebrate Earth Day in the classrooms with activities but there are many other ways you can teach about the environment.
Wear green and/or brown. Dress in environmental colors for the day.
Finally, THINK GREEN and ACT GREEN!
