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Every April 22nd, since 1970, people all over the nation come together
in appreciation of the one thing that every one of us has in common:
our Earth. This national day was initiated to raise awareness of government
environmental policies and since has become a national celebration
of our most precious gift. For Earth Day 2003, GreenWorks traveled
around Pennsylvania to see what its citizens were doing to protect
the environment. We captured five different ways of celebrating Earth
Day, from learning about the local watershed at a festival to honoring
the works and life of environmental trailblazer Rachel Carson.
Follow the links below to learn more about what people in Pennsylvania
did on Earth Day:
Stroud Water Research Center
Upstream Festival
Sun and Earth
Silver
Eye Center for Photography and Allegheny Front
New Garden Elementary School
Liz
Penny, Student, Friends' Central Middle School
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 For
Avondale, PA this Earth day was a chance for the community to get
together and learn about the importance of its surrounding watershed.
A committee of volunteers worked with Jami Harry of the Stroud Water
Research Center to organize the festival around watershed awareness.
Hands-on activities made this festival exciting and educational for
all ages; activities included, searching a stream for macroinvertebrates,
learning about various insects, making crafts, and discovering the
impacts humans have on their watershed. The festival also included
live music, art, and games all with a theme towards the appreciation
of our environment. The goal of the festival was to bring the community
together to appreciate the one thing they all depend on to survive:
the local watershed.
Watch
the Segment Now
Learn More:
Stroud Water
Research Center
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For employees at Sun and Earth, a company that produces environmentally
friendly cleaning products, Earth day is every day. But on this Earth
Day, workers stepped out of the factory to clean up the surrounding
community at their Norristown headquarters. That morning, the CEO
of Sun and Earth, Art Rogers, unveiled a new company initiative for
becoming even greener in production. At a press conference, Rogers
announced that the entire plant would run off wind power. After this
news on converting to renewable energy sources, the employees of Sun
and Earth put on gloves and boots to restore the beauty of a local
park. Workers met at Valley Forge Historical Park to clean up trash
from the waterways and clear invasive plants. Even though Sun and
Earth recognizes Earth Day every day by producing environmentally-friendly
products, they enjoy celebrating it once a year thru their commitment
to giving back to the local environment.
Watch
the Segment Now
Learn More:
Sun and Earth
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 In
Pittsburgh, people took part in an innovative and unique way of celebrating
Earth Day. The Silver Eye Center for Photography opened its exhibit
honoring the life of Rachel Carson on February 5th. Rachel Carson
was one of the leaders of the environmental awareness movement after
she wrote Silent Spring, a book on pesticides (DDT) and how they affect
the health of birds. In her honor, photographers captured both the
beauty of the natural world and the interaction of humans with the
environment. Some photographs emphasize wonder of a simple flower,
while others show the massive greed of humans that is impacting our
Earth.
The Allegheny Front, an environmental radio show in Pittsburgh, had
its first out of studio broadcast at the Silver Eye gallery to honor
the life of Rachel Carson and celebrate Earth Day. Its hour long show
focused on how the environmental movement has blossomed since Rachel
Carson and how individuals can go a long way with their efforts. By
working together, combining radio and photographic media, the groups
succeeded at achieving their goal of spreading an appreciation for
nature over vast.
Watch
the Segment Now
Learn More:
Silver
Eye Center for Photography
The
Allegheny Front
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 For
this fifth grade class of children of migrant mushroom farmers, the
environment was surprisingly not an exciting topic, at least not at
first. But before Earth Day, different speakers and environmental
activities raised their excitement about the environment, and led
up to a climactic Earth Day celebration! With a positive and enthusiastic
teacher, Lindsey Pugh, the children of the migrant farmers were able
to use all of their new knowledge about the environment and its protection
in their Earth Day festivities.
During the morning, the students traced their hands on paper and wrote
on them one thing a person can do to help the environment. Then, all
the hands were pasted to a poster, illustrating that a group of committed
individuals can make a big difference. The students took a field trip
to Anson B. Nixon park in the afternoon to help remove garlic mustard
weed (an invasive plant crowding out other plants). With all the students
working together, the plot was virtually free of the weed by the end
of the day, and the natural native species now had room to thrive
again. The most important lesson the students had learned was that
celebrating the Earth doesn’t only happen once a year, but every
day!
Watch
the Segment Now
Learn More:
New Garden Elementary
School
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 Inspired
by her Science teacher, Mr. Doug Ross, 8th grader Liz Penny took the
initiative to apply for a grant for her own environmental project
for Earth Day. As a member of the Philadelphia chapter of Earth Force,
Liz has been interested in protecting the environment since she read
her first book by Jane Goodall. The fact that the monarch butterfly
migration is international in scope, going from Canada to Mexico,
motivated her to create a garden for them at her school due to their
decreasing population.
The Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots and Shoots program helps
students K-12 fund self-designed projects for the environment. Through
the guidance of Mr. Ross, Liz applied for a grant to fund her project
and was thrilled to hear she was a recipient. With the help of her
friends, teacher, and the Roots and shoots Program; Liz Penny achieved
her goal this Earth Day by creating a haven for migrating monarchs.
Watch
the Segment Now
Learn More:
Earth
Force – Philadelphia
Jane
Goodall Institute Roots and Shoots Program
Monarch Butterflies
Friends’
Central School
Back to the Top
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GreenWorks
Earth Day 2003
The Earth Day Network
The
World Watch Institute
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