We only have one planet, and Okotoks’ Earth Day aims to teach children how to care for it.
Participating in the world’s largest environmental movement, the Town is bringing Earth Day to the community on April 22.
“Earth Day is important because it is a really great highlight to make us more aware of where we live, the nature that we are a part of, the ecosystems we are a part of,” said Jinny Toffelmire, Okotoks’ environment and sustainability specialist. “Just being more aware of that makes people better able or have a greater desire to care for the environment that is around them.”
Earth Day celebrations and activities will take place in the afternoon at the EPCOR Environmental Education Centre, where you can connect with nature and learn about how nature works to keep our planet healthy.
Toffelmire said that because this is Okotoks’ first Earth Day in years, they chose to focus on the local environment and will not be participating in the national campaign, though they hope to do so in the future.
“Now that we have staff that can run education programs we are excited to offer something for families to make them more aware of the nature that we interact with everyday here in Okotoks,” she said.
While #FreeYourPlay will not be a focus for the Okotoks event, residents can still benefit from the scheduled activities on learning about our local environment.
Starting at 1 p.m. visitors can join in on activities such as a tree scavenger hunt to learn about identifying the trees in the river valley with an urban forester, make flower pots and plant seeds, learn about composting, and making other Earth Day crafts.
The Earth Day Network is an organization that works year round to “solve climate change, to end plastic pollution, to protect endangered species, and to broaden, educate, and activate the environmental movement across the globe.”
Partially motivated by the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, then-U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson founded the first ever Earth Day on April 22, 1970 to the chorus of 20 million Americans taking to
the streets.
Earth Day Canada was started two decades later, in 1990, when Earth Day went on to be a global event, with 2 million Canadians celebrating the day.
Today, Earth Day is “the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year,” according to the Earth Day Canada website.
Earth Day Canada is focusing on free play for children with their #FreeYourPlay campaign. Citing UN research that shows the sharp decline in unstructured play outdoors has led to a decrease in resiliency, confidence, inclusivity, and a connection to nature in Canadian youth, Earth Day Canada aims to bring free play back into fashion.
Participating in the global event is as easy as heading to 1118 North Railway Street to participate in the environmental centre’s activities.
For the art-inclined, take a swing by the Okotoks Art Gallery to check out the To What Degree? Canada in a Changing Climate exhibit.
