Backyard Gardening: Earth Day Is Every Day!

By Kathryn Dorman 

April 22, 2021 marks the fifty-first annual Earth Day.  Last year was the golden anniversary of Earth Day.  Most of us were “sheltered in place,” due to COVID-19, so we couldn’t really do anything special to commemorate such a momentous Earth Day.  This year, since Earth Day falls on the publication date for this issue of The Renovo Record, I thought that it might be a good time to explore it.  What exactly is Earth Day?  What is its purpose?  How and why was it begun?  Who started it?  Has it been at all beneficial?  What can be done today and in the future to minimize the negative effects that human activities may often have on the Earth?  What can you and I do to participate in Earth Day every day? 

Today, Earth Day is an internationally recognized day of educational and conservational activities.  The day’s primary focus is preserving Earth’s environment.  This involves efforts to restore and maintain Earth’s precious natural resources:  air, water, land, and endangered species.

Ever since the Industrial Revolution began, there have been concerns that human progress may have detrimentally affected our environment by causing air pollution, contaminating water sources, and disrupting wildlife ecosystems.  Toxic waste is still being discovered, such as the corroded, leaking barrels of the now-banned insecticide DDT that were dumped ten miles off the coast of Los Angeles in the 1940’s (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-environmental-disaster-ocean-ddt-sea-lions/).  While pesticides such as herbicides and insecticides are meant to improve crop production and quality, some of their residues are thought to be affecting populations of bees, butterflies, and other crucial plant pollinators.

Gaylord Nelson is considered to be the founder of Earth Day.  Nelson served the American public as an army lieutenant in the second World War, Wisconsin state senator, U.S. senator, and Wisconsin governor.  He then became a consultant for the Wilderness Society.  During the 1960’s, Senator Nelson became increasingly concerned about the possible effect of human activities on the environment.  He recruited activist Denis Hayes to organize college campus teach-ins.  They wanted to channel the momentum of the Vietnam anti-war protests, re-directing them to support environmental conservation.

The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970.  It has been estimated that twenty million Americans – ten percent of the U.S. population at that time – participated in rallies, marches, cleanups, and other activities.  Sad to say, I was not personally involved.  At the time, I was a ten-year-old “space nerd,” stuck on a farm in rural Pennsylvania!  In 1990, Earth Day became an international phenomenon.  In 2000, Earth Day’s focus for the new millennium became global warming and clean (pollution-free and/or carbon dioxide-free) energy.  The Earth Day Organization’s theme for this year is Restore Our Earth™.  The key concerns will be “natural processes, emerging green technologies, and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems (https://www.earthday.org/toolkit-earth-day-2021-restore-our-earth/).”

After the first Earth Day, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established.  The EPA sets national standards and enforces environmental legislation.  In rapid succession, many other environmental laws were enacted, including the National Environmental Education Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.  “These laws have protected millions of men, women and children from disease and death, and have protected hundreds of species from extinction (https://www.earthday.org/history/).”

I’ll admit it:  I am a tree-hugger!  I love most plants, with the possible exception of irritating plants such as stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) or poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).  My love of plants is one of the main reasons why I became a Master Gardener.  I try to do what I can to preserve the environment.  I am almost obsessive-compulsive about recycling.  I compost my kitchen waste.  I mulch my garden with flattened cardboard boxes and grass clippings.  Every little bit helps.  I know I can do more to restore the Earth, and so can you!  For more information and Earth-restoring ideas, including fifty-one tips to restore the Earth, visit the Earth Day Organization’s website (https://www.earthday.org)

Kathryn Dorman has been a Penn State certified Master Gardener since 2017.  She can be reached at clintonmg@psu.edu or through the Clinton County Master Gardener Hotline at (570) 858-0198.