Earth Week Activities
Let’s Celebrate! It’s Earth Week!
In the late 1960’s, Governor Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin started speaking out about his ever-growing concerns about the environment and the lack of laws to protect it. In September of 1969, he called for Americans to come together the next spring for a day dedicated to Environmental Education. Fifty years later, we continue to celebrate this event that earned the Governor the title of the “Father of Earth Day.” Twenty million Americans took part in the first Earth Day celebration on April 22nd, 1970, resulting in the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act, all signed into law by President Nixon. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Now, that’s something to celebrate!
In recognition of this important time, we invite you to take part in a new Nature Museum initiative beginning this special week. Now more than ever, we are distracted by a digital storm of on-line experiences, and we’re promoting one of the “lost arts” that have gone by the wayside — good old-fashioned letter writing. We have two opportunities for nature-based writing this week, one for all ages, and one for teens and adults.
Springtime Love Letters (all ages)
Show us what you are seeing this spring! Drawings, poems, stories, and love letters to the earth — however spring has inspired you this year, we’d love to see it. Tell us about the sounds of the birds, the flower buds on the trees, the shoots in the garden bed, and the frog eggs in the pond. Capture a moment in words or images, fold it into an envelope, put it in the mailbox, and send it to us at The Nature Museum.
We promise to write back!
Perfect for kids, but fun for everyone, we have little surprises to put into each letter we send back — we can’t wait to fill mailboxes across the region with a little person-to-person exchange (while supporting the post office, too.) Send your springtime reflections to:
The Nature Museum at Grafton P.O. Box 38 Grafton, VT 05146
Metamorphosis: A Nature Museum Writing Project
Has this time of sheltering in place changed your relationship with the natural world? Have you found the solace and joy you need by spending time in nature? How has the global shift to stillness influenced your thoughts about what is possible, especially in relationship to climate change?
We’re looking for your story about how this unprecedented time has influenced your perspective on our relationship with the forces of the earth, even while sitting quietly in your own backyard.
We’re building a journal to capture the personal reflections of our Southern Vermont community, and all perspectives are truly welcome. Submit your writing (1,000 words or less) by May 15th in an email to vanessa@nature-museum.org, and we will publish the collection on our website, and possibly in print. We look forward to reading the thoughts of our community and finding the best way to share them as a collective body of ideas and inspirations about how this experience with the corona virus has influenced our relationship to nature.
