April 2019: Earth Day at Alpenglow School

by Andrea Barnes, Nature Immersion Specialist at Alpenglow School

April 22nd is Earth Day.  I know what you’re thinking… ”why are we celebrating Earth Day, shouldn’t every day be Earth Day?” The short answer is “yes, yes it should, of course it should.” But then I also think every day should be Mother’s Day too, and well... you see where I’m going here. We all need days to reconnect, remember, and appreciate. So this year, the teachers decided to organize an Earth Week instead of just a day. They felt it would be more valuable to spread out the Earth loving energy over an entire week and it was great!

But before we detail the events of the week, a few bits of information about this interesting ‘Day’:

• Earth Day began in 1970 in the U.S. and mobilized millions to march and demonstrate which in turn lead to many environmental acts and initiatives still in place today. In 1990, the campaign went global.
• Did you know that the mission of Earth Day Canada is to inspire and support people to connect with nature and build resilient communities (hmmm, sounds like our school’s mission).
• Did you know that in 2015 the Earth Day Canada theme was Earth “Play’ to encourage schools and communities to get out in nature more and PLAY! Interesting!

So what did our little school accomplish in their week of thinking, acting and celebrating the Earth?

• They wrote love letters to the Earth and transferred these writings into prayer flags (watch for these flying during Springfest).
• They did a community garbage cleanup.
• They launched their wasteless Wednesday lunch program.
• They heard the story “The Lorax” and made a school-wide Truffula tree with their personal pledges to help “speak for the trees”.
• They watched an interpretive show and learned about the importance of pollinators and made an action plan to help pollinators in our community this spring.
• They celebrated the Earth by drumming together in a circle.

Our kiddos were busy, and the teachers were inspired by their thoughtful words and meaningful actions. We should all feel proud of their efforts and perhaps you may even be inspired to do a little something this week, or month, or maybe even for the whole year that celebrates or helps our Earth.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
​- Albert Einstein