Earth Day is the one day we set aside in the year to acknowledge and appreciate this beautiful and vibrant planet we call home. On April 22nd, we take the time to celebrate and reflect on the achievements of environmental efforts and movements that focused on, and continue to focus on, protecting our Earth and its natural resources, along with raising awareness of the importance of cherishing our world. The Earth Day mission is founded on the principle that all peoples have a moral right to a healthy and sustainable environment, regardless of income, race, gender, or geography.
The first Earth Day was organized on April 22, 1970, to educate participants on the importance of environmental conservation. Since then, Earth Day celebrations and observances have grown not only in size but in what the day symbolizes and teaches us. Today, we consciously celebrate the planet we live on, showing gratitude for the earth as it provides us with nourishment in the form of water, food, and healing.
The earth is often noted to be sacred across cultures and generations. Our ancestors lived in unity with the elements and seasons, walking directly on the earth, sleeping on the earth and being one with it. As humans evolved and technology advanced, we have become disconnected. Shoes, homes, cars, screens…, all impede our ability to embrace our natural world and be connected to the earth that gives us life and sustains us. ‘Unplugging’ and being outdoors has proven to have significant benefits on our mental health.
Spending time in nature has multiple benefits, including promoting relaxation, enhancing mood, and improving sleep quality. It also plays a significant role in reducing stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Moreover, the calming influence of natural surroundings can contribute to overall mental and physical well-being.
Going outside, away from our chores, calendars, and screens helps us slow down and take notice of what’s around us, allowing us to exist freely surrounded by nature almost as our ancestors once did. Being present in nature is one of the rare experiences in our daily lives that does not require anything of us; there is no pressure, obligation or demands. When we choose to be present in nature, our minds are freed up to think more clearly and meaningfully.
Earth Day celebrations can be anything you want them to be. Embracing the opportunity presented by Earth Day to consciously choose to spend the day outside, focus on renewability, and to intentionally take notice of the calming, and often awe-inspiring beauty nature offers us is a great way to reset and literally ‘ground’.
Some simple ways to celebrate, while supporting your mental health are:
- Breathe with the trees (or go ahead and hug that tree!)
- Walk barefoot along the beach or across your lawn.
- Go for a trail walk, forest bathe, or gain some elevation while on a hike.
- Sunbathe – feel the sun on your face, feel the warmth, notice how your body feels (please use sunscreen!)
- Sit by the water – watch the waves, feel the breeze, observe life through the stillness of a lake.
- Have lunch outside.
- Plant a flower, a tree, or start that garden you’ve always wanted! Gardening is a great way to improve patience, promote care and calmness, while literally connecting you to the earth.
- Clean up your community as a group. This can help create connection within your community and provide a sense of accomplishment by cleaning up your neighborhood with the folks you share the space with.
- Get creative and do some crafts with items you would normally toss away; keep what you can out of those landfills and have some fun doing it!
- Listen to the birds, watch the squirrels chase each other through the trees, feel the rain, watch as the wind moves the earth…
Preserving the earth is important to our mental health as we are intimately connected.
“The Earth is a living, breathing entity. Without ongoing care and nurturing, there will be consequences too big to ignore” – David Holmgren.
We, too, are living breathing entities that require ongoing care and nurturing. So, this Earth Day let’s remember to recognize our oneness with our earth and show it the love it deserves, but let’s aim to do this every day…, and then let’s remember to do the same for ourselves, as well!
Happy Earth Day.
Savita Jaswal, MSW RSW
Walmsley EFAP