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Celebrate the planet by working together to save it.
Earth Day 2022 will allow residents to celebrate both online and in-person with plenty of ways to participate today that range from livestream events to in-person festivities in an around the Valley of the Sun.
This year’s theme — Invest In Our Planet — was set by the national Earth Day Organization.
At 9 a.m. Arizona time, participants can go to the earthday.org for a livestream event that will discuss how to reduce greenhouse gas needed by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement — the international treaty that addresses climate change.
“This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate,” the Earth Day website said. “Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods. For Earth Day 2022, we need to act boldly, innovate broadly, and implement equitably. It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.”
Locally, residents can attend a variety of in-person events for this year’s Earth Day. In 1970, then-U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson proposed the idea to hold a nationwide environmental teach-in on April 22. Earth Day is now celebrated across the globe.
In Phoenix, residents can go to Earth Day Expo from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix, 215 N. Seventh St., Phoenix.
Outdoor activities such as planting seeds, constructing bird feeders and examining worms are planned at the event, according to its website. In the evening, Community 43 will host a free art exhibit of more than 50 works of art.
The nonprofit promotes mental health and wellness in the Phoenix area. The art show starts at 6 p.m. at Community 43, 4343 N. 16th St., Phoenix.
Admission is free.
“This seasonal show is centered around Earth Day and features local work inspired by up-cycled materials, nature, and concept like kindness and unity,” the website said.
This week, Phoenix’s Liberty Wildlife will participate in two Earth Day events. Liberty actively assists in Arizona wildlife rehabilitation, natural history education, and conservation services in the community.
Today, Liberty staff will be at the Ak-Chin Earth Day event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Elements Center, 16000 N Maricopa Road, Maricopa. The group’s non-eagle feather repository will be set up with animal ambassadors in attendance.
On Sunday, Liberty Wildlife will hold its Earth Day event at 2600 E. Elwood St, Phoenix. Doors open at 10 a.m. and admission can be paid with a cash donation, said Laura Hackett, a group spokeswoman.
“During that time, we have [Salt River Project], Litter Critters AZ and Urban Bee specialists set up with educational booths on site as well as some of our teen volunteers with owl pellet dissection,” Hackett said. “Everyone who shows up receives a free raffle ticket to win a chance to release some of our rehabilitated birds during the event. The raffle will take place around 11:45 a.m. We also have a bald eagle feeding at 11:15 and a flighted bird show in our amphitheater at 12:15 p.m.”
In Tempe, Arizona State University will hold a discussion held by the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. and is free.
The discussion, “Ecologies and Infrastructures: Cultural Techniques of Environmental Management” will focus on what future contributions can humans and sciences to help make sustainability work.
To register, visit https://english.asu.edu/news-events/events/ecologies-and-infrastructures-cultural-techniques-environmental-management
For more information, visit https://globalfutures.asu.edu/earthweek/
Brent Ruffner Lead News Reporter | Daily Independent @AzNewsmedia
Journalism has fascinated Brent Ruffner since junior high school.
Since 2001, his stories have been published in newspapers from the Albuquerque to the Arizona and he has always had a knack for making sure his facts are right and his words are to the point.
Growing up, Brent watched as sports reporters covered his beloved Phoenix Suns, a team he followed since Charles Barkley first arrived in Phoenix via trade in 1992. Sports reporting was a dream back then.
But after gaining some writing experience, Brent found a love for news instead of covering different types of sports. In 2008, he moved to New Mexico and covered crime, schools and city beats all while holding elected officials accountable.
He covered stories that ranged from a DEA drug bust gone bad to an award-winning story on school lunches.
In Arizona, Brent was a freelance writer who covered everything from the importance of citrus in the state to Esteban owning a store in downtown Prescott.
Brent is a 2007 graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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