Does anyone else love celebrating Earth Day? I'm always excited about experiencing nature in the spring, and I’m always excited for April 22nd. How did Earth Day come about, and what does Central Oregon do to celebrate the occasion?
The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970. The idea was born by U.S. senator Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin) after witnessing the massive oil spill in Santa Barbara the year prior. On September 9, 1969, Nelson mentioned the idea for a day of national teach-ins on the environment to a small crowd in Seattle, which was then picked up as a news story by the Associated Press and United Press.
On the first Earth Day, 20 million Americans demonstrated across the country for a healthy, sustainable environment. These actions made a difference, helping lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in July 1970 and the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. What an amazing impact!
Here in Central Oregon, things were quiet on that first Earth Day. The Bend Bulletin ran an article about events happening across Oregon, but nothing official occurred in Bend. Governor Tom McCall addressed Ashland Senior High School and State Treasurer Robert Straub made a series of speeches around Portland. At the University of Oregon, classes were suspended for part of the day for a teach-in on ecology. Meanwhile, students at Lane Community College worked on rebuilding a trail on Spencer Butte and Portland Community College students cleaned up parks in downtown Portland.
The Earth Day Fair in Bend has been held in various locations over the years, including Drake Park, the Mirror Pond parking lot, and in front of the Bend La-Pine School District administration building. It is now held in front of the Environmental Center on Kansas Ave.
In 2001, the Environmental Center’s Earth Day Fair added a “Procession of the Species.” Community members, some in costume, paraded the streets of downtown Bend. This has evolved to today's Earth Day Fair and Parade. Large puppets have been a part of the Earth Day Parade throughout the years, and in 2017, local artist Teafly created three Earth Guardians for the event.
Earth Day is now the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year. This year’s theme is “Protect Our Species.”
We hope you’ll join the Land Trust, other nonprofits, and community members at this year’s Earth Day Fair and Parade on Saturday, April 20th. We'll be highlighting our work to conserve monarch butterflies through butterfly wing making workshops beforehand, a kaleidoscope of monarchs in the Earth Day Parade, and native milkweed planting at our booth.
Many thanks to the Environmental Center and Michele McKay for their contributions to this article!
Learn more:
- Earth Day Network
- The Environmental Center
- Volunteer with the Land Trust on Earth Day weekend
- Earth Day weekend hike at Whychus Canyon Preserve
- Earth Day Bingo at The Lot