It's Earth Day 2014

So today is earth day and many people across the globe are making a difference. Take for instance, Fiji. The University of Fiji is planning their first Earth Day event this year! How exciting is that? They will host a clean-up event to improve waste management on campus and help students learn about environmental responsibility.

That's not all! In Riga, Latvia, Homo Ecos is hosting an Urban Gardening Workshop for Earth Day. They will inform people about eco-friendly composting, how to recycle old bottles and other materials into planters, and how to take care of seedlings and plants in your urban garden.

There's so many awesome events happening in celebration of Mother Earth all over the world. We have some important earth day events happening right in our own backyard. See below.

In Pacifica, California residents are doing their part by volunteering and cleaning up the shoreline. Their 10th annual Earth Day of Action and EcoFair is on Saturday, April 26. There will be cleanup work sites throughout the city from 9-11 a.m., followed by an EcoFair from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Linda Mar Beach. Thousands of volunteers turned out last year to plant trees, work on habitat restoration, and clean up the city’s streets, shopping centers, beaches, and bluffs. 

From sea to land to mountains! Do you live in or near Big Bear, California? Big Bear's Discovery Center devoted an entire day to Mother Earth last Saturday, April 19, as a celebration of Earth Day. Participants learned how to reduce, reuse, and upcycle. The center is planning a month-long celebration with educational displays and activities. The Discovery Center is co-managed by the nonprofit Southern California Mountains Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service.

And last but not least the beloved community of Santa Barbara, California will host a two-day tribute to the environment and celebration of progress being made to protect the planet. Join us for these two days as we help spread awareness on using more Eco friendly conscious personal care items that are non-toxic to your skin, our earth and the animals we share this planet with. 

The event is planned for Saturday, and Sunday April 26 & 27 11 a.m.-6 p.m. A wide array of events will include live entertainment, a green car display, a children’s activity area, an environmental heroes presentation, scores of educational exhibit booths, a clean technology pavilion, “live green” demonstrations, food and drink vendors, educational seminars, and more.

What did you do today to acknowledge Mother Earth? Change starts so small. We might never win a environmental hero award but what counts is that we try and do things like separating our trash, recycle our bottles and cans, and reduce the amount of plastic we use. All in all, I believe it's about thinking of the big picture. It's easy to throw all your trash in one bag and wipe your hands clean. But it's also easy to separate your trash as well -- it's all in your perspective. In Austria we separate a simple yogurt (becher) container into three parts. First the aluminum lid gets removed, second the thick paper gets unraveled and becomes separated from the plastic container. We continue separating all these parts as we eat more yogurt throughout the week and come the end of the week we walk or drive our trash to the recycling center to then put these parts into their correct recycling bins.

Everything what we do not know may seem difficult at first but as time passes and these happenings become habits, what was once difficult will then have turned into responsibility.