Giving back to Mother Earth

This year marks the 55^th Anniversary of Earth Day celebrations, founded in 1970 by environmentalist and former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. // He organized a nationwide demonstration to raise public awareness about environmental issues celebrated on April 22. Four years later on April 21, President Richard Nixon established Earth week. Both men worked towards a goal to push for environmental action. 

Earth Day serves as a reminder that everyone has a responsibility to preserve our planet’s natural resources and help create a sustainable future.

This year’s theme is "Our Power, Our Planet," focusing on the importance of transitioning to renewable energy sources and aiming to triple global electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030. 

Wave Hill has plans for a weekend of programming April 25 - 27. Visitors can reflect on the beauty and resiliency of nature during a wellness walk and participate in hands-on activities including a scavenger and decomposer petting zoo, but it’s not of the furry variety.

Naturalist Pam Golben will de-mystify decomposition while making children comfortable with the crawly critters that live in the soil and help in the process. 

“Visitors can dive into the world of fungi and learn how to cultivate their own edible mushrooms at home,” said Kathleen Gorden, Wave Hill marketing and communications director.

Aubrey Carter, mycologist and author of the newsletter Mushroom Monday, will begin the workshop with a brief walk through the woodlands to identify and chat about optimal conditions for fungal growth. Then participants will gather indoors to build oyster mushroom grow kits using household materials that are often treated as waste.

Community gardens, including the one in the Marble Hill, will open to volunteers for Earth Day gardening and spring cleaning from 10:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.  A host a variety of gardening activities including clearing, pulling weeds and planting seeds.

Riverdale Neighborhood House will celebrate on Wednesday, April 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. with garden crafts, planting and meal prep.

As the Industrial Revolution advanced technology and capitalism, pollution increased. The advent of plastics now has our oceans full of it and it’s making its way into our food through microplastics. Every few years a large oil company experiences a major spill into out oceans, killing hundreds, if not thousands of fish and wildlife. Peaker Plants in the South Bronx continue to pollute the air and plague residents who already suffer from the highest rate of asthma hospitalizations in the country.

The effects of climate change are visible in present day and anything we can do to save the planet, saves us.