According to the Earth Day Network, Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Various events are held across the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is honored in more than 193 countries. A day of political action and civic participation, events are coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. People volunteer their time by attending marches, signing petitions, meetings with their elected officials, planting trees, and cleaning up their towns.

The theme of 2019’s Earth Day was “Protect Threatened and Endangered Species”. Last year, the theme was “End Plastic Pollution”, and it focused attention on global regulations of plastic disposal.

The Earth Day Network’s statement explains that “Nature’s gifts to our planet are the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered. Unfortunately, human beings have irrevocably upset the balance of nature and, as a result, the world is facing the greatest rate of extinction… unlike the fate of the dinosaurs, the rapid extinction of species in our world today is the result of human activity.”

On Earth Day at Kent, despite there being a school holiday, the Environmental Club hosted an event for students and faculty members that focused on cleaning up the Earth.

One of the leaders of the Environmental Club, Jeffrey Liu ’19, says, “We were able to pick up two bags of trash on Earth Day. For me, it was very shocking how much trash is around here in this area, and I think with people who went to go pick up trash with me, we were able to increase some awareness for the amount of trash that we are generating.”

Peyton McSherry ’19, also a leader of the Kent Environmental Club, says, “We would have done more if it wasn’t a holiday, and if we were able to do a presentation about the event. However… it surely became a good chance to raise awareness.”

Additionally, the Dining Hall staff played an important role in Kent’s efforts to protect the Earth. They eliminated the use of single-use plastic utensils and plates for the celebration of Earth Day.

Next year, will be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the Earth Day Network is working to make Earth Day 2020 the most diverse and global mobilization in defense of the environment in world history. The Environmental Club and the Kent community are ready to take every action we can, not just to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, but to love our world every single day.