Earth Day 2021 and the Nebraska Earth Day Passport Challenge
by Michelle Foss, Director of Resource Stewardship
Fifty-one years ago, in response to continually escalating environmental degradation, a junior senator, congressman, and young activist held the first celebration of what would become Earth Day. During teach-ins at campuses across the country, environmental activism was elevated in the wake of major disasters and national media attention to the waste created through our societal “advances.”
Today, the celebration continues around the globe, where people focus on sustainability efforts, clean-ups, energy conservation, and other efforts to help reverse the negative impact we, as humans, have had on the planet. Last year, the celebrations were virtual and individual – pick up trash in your neighborhood, attend a webinar, plant native – but this year, things are starting to pick up again. In the Omaha area, there are both in-person and virtual options, which make the most of public participation!
How do you celebrate Earth Day? Are you a trash-picker-upper, a zero-waste aficionado, or both? Are you just learning about sustainability or are you a seasoned sustainability guru – or somewhere in between?
EarthDay is April 22th, but at Fontenelle Forest, we celebrate Earth Day every day. Through habitat conservation, hiking trails, and environmental education, our mission is “To provide a place where people can experience and enjoy the quiet wild of nature. We want to inspire current and future generations to care for the natural world.”
By connecting people to nature, and fostering that connection, we inspire them to act to help protect our native systems. As well, we encourage people to learn how simple actions in our local area can positively impact the world around us. We live in a unique ecosystem including oak woodland, savanna, and prairie, along the mighty Missouri River, which flows to the Mississippi, out to the Gulf of Mexico. What we do here in the Omaha metro has an effect on the greater world through our watersheds.
Nebraska Earth Day Passport Challenge 2021
This Earth Day, pick one way to celebrate our amazing, life-giving planet, and give back in some way. One option is to participate in the Nebraska Earth Day Passport Challenge!
Earth Day Omaha and Sarpy County Earth Day partnered to put a competitive spin on this event by creating a month-long challenge where individuals can participate in fun events to win prizes from April 15 to May 15! One of the challenges is at Fontenelle Forest – make sure to check it out!
Visit GreenBellevue.org or EarthDayOmaha.org for more information, and a schedule of in-person events in the area, or register for the Nebraska Earth Day Passport Challenge below.
REGISTER for the passport challenge!
Fontenelle Forest is a proud sponsor of the Nebraska Earth Day Passport Challenge.
Celebrate with us, and our environmental partners, and make Earth Day 2021 impactful!
Share your activities with us on social media and tag #FontenelleForest and #EarthDay2021!
Not in the Omaha area? Check out earthday.org/earth-day-2021 for global events and information.