Happy 50th Anniversary Earth Day!

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Participant at first Earth Day in 1970
I work for Vermont State Parks and just as you probably imagine, I feel very lucky and I love my job. I owe Earth Day gratitude for my ability to transform my love of camping into a career. An Earth Day celebration when I was five started me on this path.

 It was 1981, and my dad brought my older sister, Rachel, and I to an Earth Day celebration at Unity College in Maine. Unity is a small environmental college in Central Maine. We were there for a 5K race, and Rachel brought me into the student center to use the restroom. I was blown away by the beautiful students adorned in bell bottoms, long hair, drapey dresses, and sandals. I knew at that moment Unity College was the place for me. Many years later I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental education and interpretation, and after a Master of Science degree and fifteen years working seasonally in the interpretation field, I grew into the fantastic job I love today.

 What has Earth Day changed for you? The very first Earth Day in 1970 changed many things for many people. Fifty years ago, environmental activism on college campuses sparked the creation of important environmental laws here in the United States, and later around the world. 

Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, this powerful book started the modern environmentalist movement by helping people think about our environment in new ways. In 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire due to the massive amount of pollutants from industry. The huge Santa Barbara oil spill also occurred in 1969, spilling 80-100,000 barrels of crude oil in the water and all over beaches in southern California. These terrible, devastating events sparked US Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin to call for teach-ins about the environment on college campuses across the United States.
A march during the first Earth Day

The 1970’s were a time of strong civil engagement, and college campuses were a hot bed of activity. Over 20 million Americans took to the streets in protest and participated in teach-ins on the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. This was before social media so you can imagine the passion driving this environmental movement.

The success of the first Earth Day was seen quickly as the Environmental Protection Agency was formed by December 1970. Over the next few years, the modern environmental movement was strengthened by passage of landmark environmental laws: The Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Many other countries around the world followed suit and adopted similar laws.

 Today more than 195 countries and more than 1 billion people around the world participate in Earth Day events. You can celebrate the 50th anniversary by doing something at home from this list of ideas.
1970's Earth Day protest in Michigan

Or you can participate in an Earth Day event anywhere around the world. We have a unique opportunity for the 50th anniversary because all events are now virtual events.
Click here to search and join virtual Earth Day events around the world! 

 What are your plans for the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22? 

 Rebecca Roy, Conservation Education Coordinator

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