Friday 22 April 2022

Earth Day: Cleanups, Media & Magic, What Will You Do?

Today is Earth Day. This year the message is that a concerted effort is needed to invest in the planet. It's vitally important that businesses and governments do more to improve their environment impact, but most of us could probably do a little bit more too. Together we can bring about change.

One example this year is the The Great Global Cleanup. This is is a worldwide campaign to remove rubbish from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, the countryside and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. Today, you could search online and find a clean-up near you to sign up for, or you could just go out for a walk and pick up the litter you find along the way, then put it for recycling.

That's just one suggestion. I asked some of my friends and fellow Moon Books' authors what they were doing for Earth Day. Imelda Almqvist, author of  North Sea Water in My Veins wrote about connecting with trees, which I posted yesterday. 

Steve Andrews, author of an Earth Spirit book Saving Mother Ocean, said: "Every day is Earth Day for me! But today I have been busy so far promoting the fact that the music video for Mother Nature Rap is trending on Now HipHop News."

Irisanya Moon, author of the upcoming Earth Spirit book Honoring the Wild: Reclaiming Witchcraft and Environmental Activism, is also a year-round environmental campaigner. She said: "While I tend to think of Earth Day as every day, this year I plan to spend some time in my favorite local park, offering it prayers and spells of healing and renewal. I want to honor the resilience of the Earth and remember my impact. After all, environmental activism can be in small whispers as well as loud voices."

Andrew Anderson works in an environment role for Shakespeare Birthplace Trust as well as being the author of Pagan Portals - Artio and Artaois. He said: "I'm launching a new webpage about sustainable actions undertaken by my organisation." It is collaborating and communicating more, becoming sustainable, encouraging biodiversity and measuring its impact. The website will be updated regularly with news stories and blogs: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/about-us/sustainable-shakespeare/

My own Earth Day plans are to go for a walk and take part in the global cleanup on a local level. It's recycling day in my area on Saturday and I will be seeing what rubbish I can remove from the streets and verges around my home to put where it can be recycled. 

I'll also *not* be mowing my grass. That picture to the left is the lawn in my garden and it is just full of wildflowers that bees and insects love. In fact the top photo is one I took earlier this week of a bee in my lawn. My neighbour mowed his grass short the other day. He gives my garden a disapproving look, but I know I'm doing more for nature by leaving it a while longer.

As Steve and Irisanya said, every day should be Earth Day. So, even if you are too busy to take action today you could set an intention or book an activity to do another day. What are your plans? Please leave a comment.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2021/04/spells-earth-dragon-drumming-chant-for.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/03/pagan-eye-east-end-street-art-promotes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2018/04/pagan-eye-upcycled-plastic-bottles-as.html

3 comments:

The Green Bard said...

Thank you for including me here in your blog! Every day I do something to do with nature and Mother Earth. Today, so far, I have been tweeting about my new release "Mother Nature Rap", checking on the chrysalises and cocoons I have here waiting to emerge, thinking about editing some footage filmed with a neighbour for SAVE THE FROGS!DAY on 30 April and attending to my cats, and a stray that I feed. Every day for me is EARTH DAY!

Jane Mortimer said...

Hi Lucya, by coincidence I've chosen yesterday and today to make a start on a very much scaled down version of the Earth Clean-up, so your post struck a chord. Passers by seem to think it's OK to use my front garden as a depository for their cast-off wrappers, drink containers and other rubbish, plus we get a lot of stuff blown in by the prevailing wind from neighbours' un-lidded recycling boxes. Tidying up the rubbish and a couple of years' worth of dead sticks and overgrown shrubs is going to be a major job, but then hopefully I can plant a few new things when it's all done. Any tips for a low-maintenance witchy garden would be much appreciated!

Badwitch said...

Green Bard - ooh interested in frog day!

Jane - Yeah, I live just down the road from a park and I get all sorts of rubbish left in my garden. Part of my clean-up yesterday was removing sandwich wrappers and drink cans from my garden hedge. I did a bit more clean-up today and picked up a discarded bottle and a plastic cup that were littering the street on my way back from the post box. They are now in my recycling. I'll try to continue the clean-up throughout the year just picking up a few bits of rubbish from the streets on my way home when I go out, if I can.