Earth Day 2012

Hello everyone,
I hope all is well with all of you especially now that spring is finally here and the warm weather as well.
We have been busy in class as usual, working, finishing projects and having lots of fun!  
As we watch beautiful flowers bloom and birds sing, we realize the beauty of our planet, our climate, and the changing seasons.  On Sunday April 22nd we will be celebrating Earth day.  

Earth Day is a celebration that provides the opportunity for positive actions and results.  Learn new ways to protect our beautiful planet Earth.
First launched as an environmental awareness event in the United States in 1970, Earth Day (April 22) is celebrated as the birth of the environmental movement.  Earth Day is a powerful catalyst for change. 
The first Earth Day, spearheaded by Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson and Harvard University student Denis Hayes, involved 20 million participants in teach-ins that addressed decades of environmental pollution. The event inspired the US Congress to pass clean air and water acts, and establish the Environmental Protection Agency to research and monitor environmental issues and enforce environmental laws.
In 1990, two million Canadians joined 200 million people in 141 nations in celebrating the first International Earth Day. In many countries, the global event brought pressure on heads of state to take part in the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro to address issues such as climate change and the world wide loss of species.
In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events and projects. 
In grade 3 we have been trying to raise awareness and promote positive change in support of a healthier environment.  Children need to know that the future of the planet is in their hands.  
Besides teaching our students about the 3'Rs, we also taught them about UPCYCLING.  Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. 




Our planet, our home is being neglected. Climate change continues unabated. It seems there's a new ecological disaster happening almost daily. This Earth Day it's time to mobilize the planet from the ground up to send a message that the Earth won't wait!   
We need to teach our children the importance of respecting our planet, taking care of it, and protecting it.  We need to start now.  After all we only have one Earth, we have no back up...let's keep it beautiful and clean!