Every Day is EARTH DAY!
Last year's Earth Day was an incredibly unique one, as it occurred right at the onset of the global pandemic. We were all still gettin adjusted to life fully indoors, Zoom meetings, and other virtual platforms. In the midst of it all, Dr. Tracy Fanara (Inspector Planet) and myself worked through some new technical skills and found a way to put on a virtual Earth Day Turn Up event complete with incredible scientists, live music, and comedy. The 4 Hour event is still available on my YouTube channel, and touched on everything from global warming to animal conservation, water protection, and waste reduction. So with 2021 now here, how we would we top it? Well...by putting on another epic event!
Honestly, this past Earth Week was incredibly difficult. Unlike last year, my schedule had grown two-fold and there were many other things on my scientific plate. Also, Earth Day is one of those moments where I truly want to use my platform, knowledge, and expertise to really raise strong awareness about issues facing our globe. Sometimes that need to touch on so much can make the entire week seem daunting, and boy was it ever! The feeling of being overwhelmed was actually shared my many other SciCommers that I spoke with, but somehow, someway we were able to find some last minute energy to pull off something great!
They say sometimes the best events are the ones that happen last minute, and literally with half a day to spare Inspector Planet and myself linked up and pulled in some amazing connections within our science community. We ended up having a great 2 hour discussion about some pressing issues facing our planet and were able to share the event live to our wonderful science enthusiasts all across the globe. We brought in an expert in sharks to discuss topics on overfishing and the misinformation presented in the documentary Seaspiracy. We even had a director from NOA (National Oceanic Association) on live discussing NEPA and other environmental policies. We capped it off with a National Geographic explorer & educator who talked about citizen science, and ways she's empowering her students to care about the environment.
All this and more is up on my YouTube channel, and I feel so proud that we were able to use our collective voices to bring some attention to our amazing Mother Earth. Check out the full live stream, and think about other ways you can improve our relationship with our planet....because of course, Every Day is EARTH DAY!
