First Earth Day In Canada: 50 Years Ago Today

Organized by Wayland Drew, our first celebrated Earth Day in Ontario started out as an ‘all night watch’ with 200 people gathering at midnight in Queen’s Park, Toronto on April 22, 1970 ... 50 years ago today!

So much has happened since then, but, no doubt, the year 2020 will be remembered and talked about for generations as the time all of humanity came together in the fight against COVID-19!

A MESSAGE FROM MOTHER NATURE

The UN’s Environment Chief, Inger Andersen stated with the pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis that nature is sending us a message:

“There are too many pressures at the same time on our natural systems and something has to give. We are intimately interconnected with nature, whether we like it or not. If we don’t take care of nature, we can’t take care of ourselves. And as we hurtle towards a population of 10 billion people on this planet, we need to go into this future armed with Nature as our strongest ally.”

ARE WE REALLY LISTENING?

... Time will tell!

Yes, fish can be seen swimming in the canals of Venice, air pollutants have dropped considerably in China, Europe and New York wildlife seems to be once again trying to recapture its rightful place in this world as we humans are self-isolating.

Be joyful ... yes, but also be cautious in our need to see and hear something ‘positive’ during these difficult times of lock down.

When the world recovers and countries once again start up their economies, we must never forget this message Mother Nature’s wrath is teaching us! We must collectively continue the ‘all night watch’ that started 50 years ago today and take care of this beautiful world we live in.