Taking care of the planet is not too big a job for the littlest of the earth’s citizens. It is a task two-year-old Ava Turner took to heart when she set out to water the plants at her home. Her parents Lucy Yu and Quincy Turner encourage their little one to take care of the planet. They shared their collective pledge to continue caring for planet via the Ideal Pre-School and Green Learning Academy Earth Day Pledge Challenge.
PHILIPSBURG--Today, April 22, marks the fiftieth year of Earth Day. On this date annually, earthlings in many corners of the globe purposely stop to ponder and act with a planet mindset. Many of those earthlings continue to incorporate their actions in the longer term.
This year, in spite of the coronavirus COVID-19 halting all Earth Day activities, Ideal Pre-School and Green Learning Academy decided to challenge St. Maarteners to “think earth” and pledge to make earth-smart changes in their lives. The online Earth Day Pledge Challenge was posted on their Facebook pages more than a week ago. St. Maarten residents and everyone else in the world were urged to post their pledges highlighting one or all five pledges.
The pledges were: “Reuse” – reuse any plastic bottle to prevent extensive use of plastic; “Use less power” – switch off any electrical appliances when not in use; “Reduce Rubbish” – reduce garbage by separating biodegradable materials to make compost for planting plants; “Plant a food” – plant any food plant at home such as tomatoes, limes, avocados and spinach; and “Save water” – save water by turning off the tap when not in use. View the pledges on Facebook.com Ideal Preschool or Green Learning Academy.
The pledges poured in to the pages from children and parents, well-known personalities. “All as one, people made pledges to better the earth for the present and coming generations. We are very excited and happy to have received great response from our St. Maarten community in form of their pledges, likes and comments,” said Ideal Pre-School and Green Academy. The pledges are encouraged not to be one-off things, but lifestyle changes with a global reach.
“We believe one initiative can inspire millions, and millions together can make a huge difference. We hope on this 50th anniversary of celebrating Mother Earth’s unconditional love for mankind, we all can contribute a little bit from our side. This will be our best gift to this beautiful planet we live on,” said Ideal Pre-School and Green Learning Academy.
Global organisers for Earth Day's 50th anniversary envisioned a one-billion-person global commemoration marked with gatherings, marches, speeches, concerts and more. Years of work in the organizing – now cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the global standstill itself is a profound statement of nature's power and human vulnerability, not only now in the pandemic but as the planet hurtles toward a warmer future.
“COVID-19 is a real warning that when Mother Nature decides to act, we are pretty puny," said Gene Duvernoy, who helped organise 50th anniversary events for Earth Day Northwest 2020. Today, humankind faces not only the emergency of the coronavirus pandemic, but the catastrophe of climate change. In the scale of geologic time, it is happening just as fast, and already for some species and communities is more destructive.
