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Saturday April 22 is Earth Day!
Ottawa River Institute members in Pembroke are organizing a garbage pick-up along the Ottawa and Muskrat Rivers in Pembroke.
Meet at the parking lot for the Pembroke Farmers’ Market (northeast corner of Lake and Victoria Streets) at 10:00 a.m. Bring gloves and wear sturdy clothes. Garbage bags will be supplied. Everyone is welcome.
Why do it?
To express caring for our environment
To get fresh air, exercise and have fun
To join millions of others in over 180 countries taking part in Earth Day events and projects
History of Earth Day
The first Earth Day was an environmental awareness event in the United States in 1970. It was organized by the Governor of Wisconsin and a Harvard University student, and involved 20 million participants in teach-ins that addressed decades of environmental pollution.
The event inspired the US Congress to pass clean air and water acts, and establish the Environmental Protection Agency to research and monitor environmental issues and enforce environmental laws. Earth Day (April 22) is now recognized as the birth of the environmental movement.
In 1990, two million Canadians joined 200 million people in 141 nations in celebrating the first International Earth Day. In many countries, the global event brought pressure on heads of state to take part in the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to address issues such as climate change and the world wide loss of species.
In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events and projects. They range from large public events, such as Victoria’s Earth Walk (5,000 participants), Edmonton’s Earth Day Festival at Hawrelak Park (30,000 participants), and Oakville, Ontario’s Waterways Clean-up (2,000 participants) to the thousands of small, private events staged by schools, employee groups and community groups.
For more information about Earth Day, visit Earth Day Canada at www.earthday.ca or call 416-599-1991 ext. 107.