Root for Trees this Earth Day!
Posted on April 21, 2016
Did you know that the theme for Earth day this year is #Rooting4Trees? Planting more trees may seem like a small defense against the large eco-problems we face today, but they’re an easy and effective way to protect the environment. Trees play an invaluable role in the health of our planet, and have a key role in our cities, cleaning our air, mitigating flood impacts, cooling our pavements, and beautifying our neighbourhoods.
The global network of Earth Day organizations are kicking off an ambitious campaign to plant 7.8 billion trees, one for every person on the planet, by 2020. Canada’s contribution to this worldwide goal is 35 million trees — one per person in Canada.
So why not plant a tree this weekend to celebrate Earth Day? The City of Calgary has instructions on how to plant a tree or shrub, and you can find one at lots of garden centers around the city, such as Blue Grass Nursery. Get the whole family digging and planting!
And once you've done that, join us for our first ever Jane's Walk all about "Getting to Know Your Leafy Neighbours" on Sun May 8th.
A little history...the first Earth Day was on April 22nd, 1970, after a US Senator realized the problems of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Earth day brought together groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife. It has since been a day to commemorate and connect environmental causes around the world, building awareness, support and momentum. Learn more...
Happy Earth Day #YYC!
