Earth Day 2024



In the fall of 2022, as I heard increasingly dire reports on how climate change was accelerating on every front, (and how little progress had been made addressing it since the first Earth Day in 1970,) I wondered how people could learn more about what they could be doing to prepare for the increasing severe climate impacts.  That’s when the idea for A Day of Climate Action came to me.  The idea was simple—engage many organizations in doing practical projects for their stakeholders and the public—either hands-on or educational—that would demonstrate to the community what could be done and even provide hands-on experience.   

 

Happily, the idea coincided with the City’s desire to have a 2023 Earth Day celebration, which helped get us started.  Soon we had a Planning Team of 11 organizations that created a vision and developed an action plan that culminated in the formation of three Task Forces to plan the projects, the celebration, and publicity.   

 

Then the big tests came—would anyone do a project?  By the end of March, 34 organizations and individuals had signed up as Project Hosts! Would the public participate?  By the week before Earth Day, more than 500 had registered online!  Could we, in addition, pull off a community-wide celebration of the Day?  Thanks to the support of the City, IERCD, and the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, we did!  Complete with a live band, free lunch for all participants, and lots of information tables!   

 

I am grateful for every single person who contributed to the success of this first ever Day of Climate Action in Redlands.  To the Community Planning Team, the Project Hosts, those who participated in projects, our financial supporters, and all the volunteers who helped with the celebration!  What a joy to see this all come together in a day that I hope encouraged our community to take seriously the threats of climate change and to be prepared as possible. We also hope this is a model other communities will adopt.   

 

We now look forward to A Day of Climate Action for Earth Day 2024. Please put April 20th on your calendar!