Earth Day 2020 Celebration

April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 1970. Twenty million Americans participated in inaugural events at elementary and secondary schools, universities, and community sites across the United States.  As a result of Earth Day 1970, the U.S. government created the EPA (1970) and enacted the Clean Air Act (1970), Clean Water Act (1972), and Endangered Species Act (1973).

Here are some ideas and opportunities, online & offline,  for you to celebrate and to share with your students.


Earth Day 2020 24 Hours of Action

From Earthday.org “What Can You Do?”

Earth Day Live Events
Document Your Air Quality with the EC2020 App
Great Global Cleanup (solo)


Climate Generation

/Climate Gen invites you and your classroom to join them at  Eyewitness: Earth Day Storytelling Slam! Visit the site to see the lineup of storytellers and performers. You will hear from artists and storytellers featured in their new book, Eyewitness: Minnesota Voices on Climate Change (launches April 22)!

Ways Your Classroom Can Join In

  1. Participate in the Livestream (11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. CDT) by registering on Crowdcast! Your students will be able to participate in the chat and ask questions.
  2. Watch the Livestream on YouTube! If you don’t want your classroom to have to register on Crowdcast, head to the synced stream link and participate that way. Can’t tune in live? The recording of the Slam will be available on YouTube immediately after.

Earth Day Lesson Plan You can use this lesson plan, Earth Day 2020: Climate Stories, Art, and Music for the Virtual Classroom, to bring Earth Day to your virtual classroom alongside the Slam. Included in this lesson is a series of activities and a collection of some of the stories shared in the Slam for students to read on their own!


National Academy of Science – ClimateMusic

On April 22, 1 pm MDT National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Cultural Programming celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day by discussing the composition of Icarus In Flight with composer Richard Festinger and UC Berkeley’s Dr. William Collins and experts from the NAS and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.   Registration is required but there is no cost: CPNA


More Ideas and Resources! 

National Parks Service Celebrates Going Virtual NPS Leave No Trace, Junior Explorer & other opportunities to explore.

National Geographic Celebrates Earth Day  Celebrate Earth Day with these tips for helping our environment.

Celebrate Earth Day with Scholastic  Promote environmental awareness with these teaching ideas, lesson plans, and student activities.

NASA.gov Earth Day  Check out the Earth Day Toolkit containing resources, visuals, videos, and ebooks.

Legends of Learning Earth Day Games  Free COVID-19 access to six math and science games for class, home, or remote. Teachers will need to create an account.

Kids Discover Earth Day  More Earth Day Resources for teachers and students are available here.

Christine Schein
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