It’s time to celebrate our favorite planet… Earth!

Earth Day is finally upon us so celebrate! Smell the flowers, hug the trees, and even high five the ocean! Not sure what Earth Day is? Here are a few facts. Earth Day is a holiday dedicated to supporting planet Earth and environmental friendliness. It is has been celebrated every year on April 22nd for the past 43 years! Earth Day is not just a holiday in America, it is celebrated in 192 countries annually. Wondering what you can do to ensure that the earth celebrates 1,000,000 more Earth Days? Here are a few environmentally friendly ways to celebrate.

Plant a tree in your back yard: Planting a tree in your back year on earth day is a fun and simple way to celebrate. Planting a tree in your yard will not only dress it up, but trees help to lower greenhouse gas emissions and they can provide food and shelter fir a variety of animals.

Go on a nature hike: Living in Massachusetts we are lucky enough to have the beach and the forest to visit, and taking a nature hike is a great way to appreciate our nature filled state. You can even incorporate a scavenger hunt into the nature walk making it more interactive. Some things you can include in the scavenger hunt are different plant species, taking a picture of different birds or animals found in nature, and picking up one piece of litter.

Participate in a Beach Clean Up: With the beach being one of my favorite places, this is my favorite way to celebrate Earth Day. Visit your local favorite beach with a few of your friends to help get rid of some of the trash that takes away from the beaches beauty. Make sure to bring trash bags and gloves to pick up the trash, you can even recycle some of the cans!

I hope you have gotten a few ideas to celebrate! Happy Earth Day from all of us at the National Marine Life Center