April 22 is Earth Day, and this year’s theme is Planet vs. Plastics.

Plastics can pose serious risks to human health and the environment, which is why this year’s theme is focused on them. Humans need a healthy planet to survive, and Earth needs us—which makes Earth Day the perfect day to do something positive!

The good news is Earth Day is easy to celebrate at home or school, so what will you choose? Pick up an Earth Day-themed book or go online for some fresh ideas. Maybe spend some time outside enjoying nature or learning about native plants and wildlife. If crafts are your thing, try making your own birdseed feeder with some adult help or

create fun art using recycled supplies!   

Bear Essential News is part of this year’s Tucson Earth Day Festival at the Children’s Museum! 

This fab-n-informative free festival is on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. and includes a pay-what-you-wish admission all day! (Details are on the next page.)

However you celebrate, take time to think about why Earth Day is important. It’s been an annual tradition since 1970, so how did it get started all those years ago?

In 1962, a best-selling book titled “Silent

Spring” by Rachel Carson set the stage for change. It raised awareness about the links between pollution and public health. In 1970, Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin worked with a congressman and a young activist to organize the first Earth Day. Nelson was motivated to take action after he learned about a terrible oil spill on the coast of California in 1969, and the group wanted to get people to focus on environmental issues. Twenty million people in the United States participated in 1970—about 10 percent of the population.

The first Earth Day helped lead to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and encouraged Congress to pass several well-known environmental laws, like the Clean Water Act in 1972. Earth Day went global in 1990 and is now celebrated around the world in more than 193 countries!