What is Earth Day and why is it celebrated throughout the United States each year? Earth Day is officially observed on April 22nd each year. This year we celebrated our 44th Anniversary of Earth Day. Earth Day was created at a UNESCO conference in San Francisco in 1970.
Often times many people are unaware of the importance of recycling and how it helps to preserve our natural environment. So, today I’d like to share with you a good site to visit (www.all-recycling-facts.com) to learn more about the variety of ways that you can change your day to day routine to help preserve our natural energy and environment. Another good benefit in regards to understanding the importance of preserving our environment is that each year volunteers plan various events throughout the world to create more awareness about keeping our environment safe and clean. I am proud to say that the Metro Atlanta area has a large involvement with preserving our environment. The month of April is fully celebrated with a number of events all around town to create more awareness such as; Corporate Green Day Challenge which was held on April 5th. This event consisted of many company sponsors coming together to represent business practices to help clean up our local parks, stream banks, plant gardens etc. Earth Day Kid Fest was held on April 12th from 10 am to 3 pm at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. This event consisted of live music, an eco-village with hands on interactive activities, canoe rides, healthy food etc. This event was hosted by the Captain Planet Foundation and the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Georgia Tech’s Earth Day was held April 18th on Tech Walk. The event featured over 70 exhibitors which included eco-friendly giveaways, recycling opportunities, a clothing sweep, an office supply exchange, live music and organic popcorn. So, as you can see there is so much to do around the city of Atlanta for celebrating Earth Day and I’m sure many other cities nationally are just as involved.
Making A Difference
“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” – Anatole France. Recently a friend of mine Mrs. Nataki Osborne Jelks was recognized at the White House “Champions of Change” event. This event was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature individuals who are doing exceptional things to educate, empower and inspire members of their community. The ultimate mission of “Champions of Change” is to connect young people with the outdoors, confront the challenges of climate change, better manage our public lands and waters, benefit the environment, public health and the economy. I am so proud of the many accomplishments that Nataki has had over the years in engaging minority youth in urban communities. In 2001, Nataki co-founded the Atlanta Earth Tomorrow Program, National Wildlife Federations multi-cultural, youth environmental education and leadership development program that engages urban youth in investigating causes of environmental challenges, helps them to connect to nature, promotes civic engagement and nurtures leadership skills for building personal environmental stewardship. The program has reached over 2,500 youth and was recently selected as a 21st century Conservative Service Corps member organization. I’ve always known Nataki to be very passionate about nature and preserving our environment and its always good to see people being recognized for their community service. Nataki Osborne Jelks you are truly a “Champion of Change” and well deserving of this recent special honor that you received during a White House event.
So, as you can see we firmly believe in celebrating our earth here in Metro Atlanta. We are proud to be apart of various opportunities that help to promote a cleaner environment in a fun and educational way.
