Elbows Up For Earth
By Wendy Kirk – Special to SUNonline/Orillia
Earth Day, April 22, will be here soon. As awareness days go, could there be one that is more universally relevant?
Recent threats to Canada’s sovereignty and economic wellbeing united us with national pride. Overnight, we have realized that our democracy, our security, our livelihoods, and our national identity can no longer be taken for granted. Canadians have been delivered a wake-up call, and most have risen to the challenge to take action to protect our nation. Politicians are jockeying to present the most robust stand against tariffs. Merchants are attaching maple leaves to Canadian products. Travellers are reconsidering their destinations. Many of us are questioning our investments, our loyalties, and our priorities.
On a smaller scale, Orillians felt our community come together during the ice storm and its aftermath. Neighbours checked on neighbours. Empathy, encouragement, warm shelter and hot meals were given and received. We were connected throughout our community during this disaster.
How catastrophic must the event be before we rally to support the planet’s security, its well-being, and it’s very ability to sustain itself and all of its inhabitants?
What is home? Your dwelling, your community, your province, country, continent? On a larger scale, the earth is home to each one of us. We can’t truly separate ourselves from our planet. All of our actions, our care, our carelessness, our attempts at sustainability, our greed affect the condition of our home.
The first Earth Day took place in the United States in 1970. Across the country, 20 million people gathered in countless events to demand action for a cleaner, healthier environment. Since 2009 on April 22, the United Nations’s International Mother Earth Day has occurred around the world
The theme for Earth Day 2025 is Our Power, Our Planet with a goal to encourage individuals, business, and all levels of government to focus on the transition to renewable energy sources. Every year, regardless of the current theme, Earth Day presents the opportunity for us to celebrate our planet, to express our appreciation for its beauty and bounty. It also challenges each of us to examine the give-and-take of our relationship with the earth. Reciprocity is the basis of any thriving relationship. Tragically, we have taken too much (violently and in excess, leaving behind irrevocable damage) and given back too little. This dynamic is unsustainable.
What can you do to honour the Earth, our home, and contribute to its health?
On an individual level, the challenge is to give back to the earth in compensation for what we have taken seems daunting.
Look for organized projects during the month of April and on April 22, such as restoration projects in nature sanctuaries and community litter clean-ups.
Visit a natural area for a quiet time to help re-set your view of the world.
Donate time or dollars to organizations that work for the health of the earth.
Sign petitions that demand protection and restoration of wildlife and habitats, fresh water, and clean air.
Educate yourself about the ecological problems of our times.
You may begin to adjust your priorities and take another look at what the planet needs from us versus what we think we need from the plane and make every day your Earth Day.
(Images Supplied)
