Senator Gaylord Nelson began worrying about environmental problems in the 1960s and tried to bring more attention to these issues. In 1969, he came up with the idea of Earth Day as a way to educate people about needed environmental changes. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, where millions of Americans participated in events to support environmental protection. Earth Day now occurs annually and is celebrated worldwide.

2. HOW EARTH DAY GOT
STARTED
Earth Day got started in 1963
when Senator Gaylord Nelson
began to worry about our
planet. Senator Nelson knew
that our world was getting dirty
and that many of our plants and
animals were dying. He
wondered why more people
weren't trying to solve these
problems. He talked to the
President and they decided that
the President would go around
the country and tell people
about these concerns. He did,
but not enough people were
working on the problem.
Then, in 1969, Senator
Nelson had another idea.
He decided to have a
special day to teach
everyone about the things
that needed changing in our
environment. He wrote
letters to all of the schools
and put special articles in
Magazines to tell them
about the special day he
had planned.

3. On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was held. People all over the country made
promises to help the earth. Everyone got involved and since then, Earth Day has spread
all over the planet. People all over

4. FACTS ON EARTH DAY
 The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970.
 Earth Day originated in the US but became recognized worldwide by 1990.
 On Earth Day 2009, Disney released a documentary film called Earth that
followed the migration paths of four animal families .
 On the very first Earth Day, 20 million people gathered in the streets of
America to protest the industrial revolution. An environmental movement was
born as a result.
 Every year on April 22, men, women, and children collect garbage, plant
trees, clean up coral reefs, show movies, sign petitions, and plan for a better
future for our planet.

5. ESTATION
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand
of trees in an area where there was no forest.
Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover,
either naturally (by natural seeding, coppice, or root
suckers) or artificially (by direct seeding or planting).
Many governments and non-governmental
organizations directly engage in programs of
afforestation to create forests, increase carbon
capture and sequestration, and help to
anthropogenically improve biodiversity. Special tools,
e.g. tree planting bar, are used to make planting of
trees easier and faster. An afforestation project in Rand
Wood, Lincolnshire, England

6. WAYS TO KEEP ENVIRONMENT
CLEAN
 Adopt a stream, park or roadside to clean up and keep beautiful.
 Encourage others to join you in collecting glass, newspaper, cans and plastic
containers to be recycled .
 Insist on buying products in recyclable containers
 Don’t use diesel or petrol vehicles for short distances instead go for cycling or
walking .
 Use electrostatic precipitators in factories to reduce pollution .
 Use renewable sources of energy like solar energy, hydro energy, to conserve
fossil fuels .
 Plant a tree to stop soil erosion which give us shade and give birds a home.

7.  Quit buying products that have a lot of packing wrappings .
 Turn off lights when you are the last person to leave the room .
 Save water by using buckets instead of shower while bathing .
 Get leaking taps repaired and close the tap while brushing teeth .
 Use products made to be used many times
 Value and appreciate the environment . Realise that you can make a
difference and be proud of your contribution .

8. EARTH DAY 2014
Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network,
and is celebrated in more than 192 countries each year. The Earth
Day Network's India Programme has its headquarters in West
Bengal state's capital Kolkata. The network in India organises
workshops to provide environmental education and training for
sustainable livelihood development among the youth.
The Earth Day Network also works very closely with the municipal
corporations of major metropolitan cities in India to ensure that
public parks and gardens are well maintained.
The network, in partnership with Rotary International, has
launched 'Green Magic' which aims to plant 10 million trees across
India.

9. EARTH DAY 2015
 In his message on International Mother Earth Day, 22 April 2015, United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed , “Today, on Mother Earth Day, I ask each one
of us to be mindful of the impacts our choices have on this planet, and what those
impacts will mean for future generations, Ban asserted, adding that, “Not everyone is
able to make sustainable choices, but for those who can, simple decisions such as
switching to energy-efficient lighting or buying only what you will consume can
transform our world.” To make your actions count, take these little pledges:
 Pledge an act of green by planting a sapling
 Save every drop of water
 Reduce energy consumption. Switch off any unnecessary lights, unplug devices that are
not in use or walk to school or your office if you live nearby.
 Learn more about your environment and read about current issues affecting the
environment, like pollution, water shortages and climate change.
 Go meatless once in a while. Make a difference by limiting your meat consumption as
the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas
emissions worldwide
 Use Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) which last 10 times longer, use only 1/4 the
energy and produce 90% less heat compared to the normal ones.