50th Earth Day is Almost Here!
Earthday.org/action
This April 22nd will mark the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day -- a day to celebrate, take action, and advocate for the benefit of the planet we call home. Many nonprofit organizations across the state, the nation, and the globe had planned a slew of events, from climate strikes to eco-festivals.
But things have dramatically and necessarily changed in light of the current COVID19 health crisis. We recognize that taking care of ourselves, our families, and our finances right now is of paramount importance and taking on anything else might feel like too much.
To be champions of both public health and climate action this Earth Day, there are plenty of options to celebrate and advocate from a socially responsible distance! We hope you will join us in finding a meaningful and virtual way to support the Earth from home. In some ways, this crisis has amplified our shared humanity and created an even deeper connection to the planet we love.
With that in mind, C3 has joined UVA, the City and the County, and other environmental nonprofits, to virtually celebrate Earth Day, Every Day throughout the month of April. Let’s continue to take action in whatever way we can right now.
Here are some ideas on ways to take action for Earth Day 2020:
Make a S’more Solar Oven out of a Pizza Box from Climate Camp!
1- Kids and Families can join our Virtual Climate Camp. This five-week virtual climate camp for kids and parents is chock-full of fun online books, offline activities, demo videos (with our own kids), and great learning resources every week to supplement at-home learning! We hope folks will find it super useful, fun, and inspirational. From up-cycled art projects to s’mores solar ovens, there is something for all ages. We'll be giving away a C3 hat, t-shirt, or reusable bamboo utensil set weekly to the best photo/video.
2- @SustainableUVA is offering simple actions that align with a daily theme on their social media. The themes are #MondayMotivation, #TeachYourselfTuesday, #ChattyWednesday, #TakeActionThursday, #FridaysforFuture, #ServiceSaturday and #SunnySunday. Find your own way to celebrate with this framework in mind and post to your Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and tag @SustainableUVA and @c3climate using the hashtag #EarthDayEveryDay.
UVA’s Write Climate homemade “buns”
3- Join UVA’s Write Climate class and CHS students to create a #climatefocused and community-based art project. Help them out by saving your flexible plastics and turning them into these buns (above photo from their instagram). Make a circle shaped “bun” out of flexible plastic to contribute. They still need 1,000 buns. www.writeclimate2020.com
4- With so many people walking around their neighborhood, continue to advocate for a cleaner planet by making your own Earth Day sign to hang in a prominent window of your home for neighbors walking by to see! This action along with others are posted on the Earth Day Network (the official Earth Day 2020) website.
5- Households can take action to reduce their carbon footprint at home by joining the Home Energy Challenge. There are still 8 weeks to take action from small changes that take less than an hour to bigger lifestyle changes like eating more plant-based foods -- the best part of the platform is that every action shows the cost savings and the environmental impact and the collective community impact. So you can see that your actions are adding up to make a real difference on climate! Go to cvillechallenge.org.
6. Just last month the County published their Draft of the Climate Action Plan (CAP) - Phase I. We intend to release a summary with key highlights, climate advocacy opportunities, and the latest information on the CAP’s community engagement process soon. For now, we recommended giving it a read and filling out the County feedback survey. We’d love to hear your thoughts at policy@theclimatecollaborative.org.
7. And finally, for small businesses and nonprofits: take a climate-friendly action by eliminating those plug loads during the stay-at-home order. In this short video, Claire Habel, our Commercial Program Manager, walks you through unplugging everything to ensure that you are not paying extra and drawing electricity during the shutdown.
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