The famous “Blue Marble” photograph, captured by the crew of Apollo 17 (1972) – Image credit: NASA – public domain
TWH – This Saturday marks the 53rd Earth Day celebration. The first Earth Day was designed as a teach-in on college campuses, held on Wednesday, April 22, 1970, and organized by Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson and co-chaired by U.S. Representative (R-Calif.), Paul “Pete” McCloskey. They selected a weekday between Spring Break and final exams for the event in the hope of attracting as many students to participate as possible.
That first event saw roughly 20 million Americans hold demonstrations in parks and other public spaces to demand better protections for the environment and stricter regulations for industries to limit pollution. A direct result of the first Earth Day was the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Soon to follow would be new environmental laws that included the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act. In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act in 1973, and then the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
By 1990, Earth Day had become a global event, and now has over 190 supporting countries with over 1 billion people participating worldwide. The theme for this year is, “Invest In Our Planet” and seeks to highlight and encourage the benefits of sustainable and equitable practices in business, industry, and government.
Selena Fox and Circle Sanctuary have been strong advocates for addressing environmental issues and encouraging members of the Pagan and Pagan-adjacent communities to support actions that increase environmental protections. Fox has been at the forefront of the environmental movement and continues to sponsor programs and offer workshops on the subject. Circle Sanctuary designates April as Earth Month each year and focuses on programming that supports environmental and climate actions.
This year, Circle Sanctuary, which just celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 200-acre Nature Preserve, will hold its annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 22 at the Preserve which is located near Barneveld, Wisconsin. The celebration will include workshops, nature walks, and rituals.
Gaea Retreat Center in McLouth, Kansas will hold its annual Earth Day celebration on April 21 through April 23. Since 2005, the Center has held its celebration to help foster spiritual and cultural education through community building. The family-friendly event will feature workshops, children’s activities, drumming and dancing, rituals, and a community potluck. Pre-registration is strictly required for admission.
While many of the events held on Earth Day are not Pagan-specific, EarthDay.org offers an event map of all the events that have registered with them. Community cleanups, tree plantings, and other community-oriented celebrations are scheduled all around the planet.
Another major event featured by EarthDay.org that runs through the month of April is “The Great Global Cleanup” which continues to partner with Let’s Do It World and Keep America Beautiful. In its fifth year, the program “is focused on tackling the issue of mismanaged waste and providing opportunities for individuals and organizations to see the positive, tangible impacts their actions have on our environment. The campaign encourages governments, businesses, and citizens to unite together to create cleaner communities with events happening globally year round.”
The U.S. Climate Action Summit will be held in New York City this week on April 19. This marks the third year for the Summit, which seeks to unite “key leaders in business, politics and advocacy to drive US climate momentum during Earth Week.”
The Summit identifies its goal as being “to create a participant-led platform that drives measurable outcomes on climate policy and business action, with attendees at the heart of the agenda.”
While in-person attendance at the summit is by invitation only, anyone can register for the virtual presentations that will be livestreamed.
The Blue Marble Podcast will feature EcoActivist, EcoChaplain, and Circle Sanctuary Minister Rev. Char Bear on Friday, April 21 at 7:00 pm (CDT) to discuss both Earth Day, and the U.S. Climate Action Summit 2023.
Announcements:
-
- The Fredrick Pagan Pride Day announced that it is seeking applications for entertainers, event sponsors, local groups and charities, vendors, volunteers, and workshop and Ritual Leaders for their 7th annual Pagan Pride event, scheduled for September 9, 2023. Organizers request all inquiries be made via their website.
- The Fredrick Pagan Pride Day announced that it is seeking applications for entertainers, event sponsors, local groups and charities, vendors, volunteers, and workshop and Ritual Leaders for their 7th annual Pagan Pride event, scheduled for September 9, 2023. Organizers request all inquiries be made via their website.
- The Philadelphia Pagan Pride announced that they are accepting applications for entertainment, vendors, volunteers, and workshop presentations. The 11th annual event will be held on September 2, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm in Clark Park B in Philadelphia. The event seeks “to bring together Pagans of all traditions to advance understanding, communication, and fellowship among the various communities.” More information about the event can be found on the Philadelphia Pagan Pride website.
Upcoming Events:
- Cherry Hill Seminary’s lecture series, “Coming to the Center” will host Jo Carson on May 20, 2023 at 3:00 pm (EDT). Information on the lecture and how to register is available on the CHS website. CHS provided this background on Carson, “Pagan priestess Jo Carson seeks to create positive visions of the future through Feraferia, A Love Culture for Wilderness. She is Chair of the Board of Feraferia, which she joined in 1972. She also holds the rank of 7th Degree in the Order of the Temple of Astarte, having been initiated in 1970. She was active in a Reclaiming-inspired Wiccan circle called Eye of the Crescent for 17 years. Jo holds a master’s degree from UCLA in film production, and her professional life has included camera work on many feature films. She directed and produced the documentary feature Dancing With Gaia: Earth Energy, Sacred Sexuality and the Return of the Goddess, plus documentary shorts A Dance for the Goddess about Feraferian rites, and Himalayan Pilgrimage: A Visionary Journey. She authored Celebrate Wildness: Magic, Mirth and Love on the Feraferian Path, an introduction to Feraferia through art. She is currently working on a Feraferia Tarot deck and book.”
- The 31st annual St. Louis Pagan Picnic will be held on Saturday, June 3, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 4, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm (CDT) in Tower Grove Park. The event is free and family-friendly, featuring a variety of workshops, musical performances, rituals, and vendors. The event also offers a Kid Zone that will include crafting and other activities for children.
- Circle Sanctuary announced last week that registration for Pagan Spirit Gathering is now open. The annual event includes a variety of vendors, workshops, music, and rituals.
- The Scottish Goddess Conference 2023 will be held online from September 13 – 17 as well as in person in Paisley, Scotland on September 16, 2023. This theme for 2023 is “Oracles of the Divine, and will be dedicated to all things related to communicating with the other realms and spirits. From oracle work to séance, spiritism, necromancy, omens, trance work, psychedelic plants, medium, divination methods, ancient oracles, and much more!” Speakers include Professor Daniel Ogden, Dr. Jeffrey S. Kupperman, Kristoffer Hughes, Caitlin Matthews, Ivo Dominguez, Jeff Cullen, Chris Allaun, Lucya Starza, Starr Ravenhawk, Susana Aguilar, Michael Mayo, and Cara Hamilton. Super Early Bird Tickets are currently available on the Scottish Goddess Conference Website. The Conference will also hold a Virtual Goddess Market till September and a live Goddess Market at the event venue at the Wynd Centre in Paisley, Scotland, to support the Goddess Temple Alba.
- The Goddess Temple Alba, with its aim to open a Community Space for Pagans in Scotland, will be hosting several Charitable Goddess Markets this year. The first one was held on February 4, and the next is scheduled for April 29 and will celebrate Beltane, and the third market will be held during the Scottish Goddess Conference on September 16. According to the organizers, “All donations towards spaces for traders will go directly to the Goddess Temple Alba Fund towards a space. Ness Bosch, the Head of the Goddess Temple Alba, and some of the members of the Temple are working very hard to open this Temple space! Go and support the Goddess Community in Scotland by paying a visit to the forthcoming Goddess Markets!” Those interested can now also join the Goddess Community In Scotland Facebook Group to keep up with goddess happenings in Scotland. Anyone interested in securing a space as a trader/vendor with the Goddess Markets can email the organizers. All markets will take place at the Wynd Centre in Paisley, Scotland.
In other news:
- A new study published by the University of New Mexico (UNM) and done in conjunction with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Potsdam University suggests that a shift in the predictable amount of seasonal rainfall contributed to the decline and destabilization of Mayan society. The team which included UNM archaeologist Keith Prufer, and PIK lead researcher, Tobias Braun, was able to analyze seasonal changes in carbon and oxygen isotopes over the last 1,600 years in a stalactite from a cave near the ancient Maya city of Uxbenka. Prufer explained, “The climate record was generated from a cave called Yok Balum, located near the ancient Maya city of Uxbenká. That ancient city figures prominently in this article and is important because it is the closest to the site of the climate data and because of two decades of research there exploring the timing of the collapse.” The findings may offer some insight into the current populations that live in the region when it comes to the impacts of climate change. Braun noted, “A key ingredient for Maya agriculture was the timely arrival of sufficient rainfall. Farming in subtropical Central America is tough because freshwater is only available during the summer rainy season. Changes of onset and intensity of the rainy season can have serious repercussions for Central American societies.” While the study sheds light on part of the reason Mayan society deteriorated, it may also hold valuable insight for current farmers and agriculture on how a shift in the climate might affect the industry.
- A new project in the Sonoran Desert being spearheaded by the Tucson Audubon Society includes an effort to help restore the saguaro cactus population. Saguaros have been severely impacted by weather pattern shifts attributed to climate change and an increase in desert wildfires. According to Aya Pickett, a restoration project manager with the Tucson Audubon Society, “Saguaros aren’t regenerating and establishing populations in the wild anymore in the last 24 years. They really require specific weather conditions. A really good monsoon season. One really good winter. And then another really good monsoon season after that.” The Tucson Audubon Society received just over $500,000 in grant money from the Wildlife Conservation Society and the U.S. Forest Service to help fund their restoration project in the Sonoran Desert. Part of that project includes planting 14,000 saguaros over the next two years and building nesting boxes for birds that relied on the saguaros as part of their natural habitat. The project also intends to clear 1,000 acres of the desert of an invasive grass that has contributed to the spread of wildfires and the demise of saguaros.
Every year EarthDay.org highlights a variety of opportunities designed to encourage people from all over the world to participate in events that promote caring for the environment. While many of the events are centered on the week of Earth Day, others are ongoing throughout the year and provide various opportunities for education on the environment.
The Canopy Project seeks to offset deforestation with the continual replanting of trees all around the globe. Since its inception in 2010, the Canopy Project has planted tens of millions of trees around the world.
Last year the group set an ambitious goal to plant 10 million trees that included planting 100,000 mangroves along the villages of Banishanta Union in the Khulna division of Bangladesh by partnering with Crystal International Group Limited. The positive benefits of mangroves not only help to protect waterway embankments but also encourage biodiversity by providing natural habitats for a variety of wildlife, as well as offsetting carbon footprints by removing anywhere from two to four times the amount of carbon dioxide from the air as a mature forest.
This year the Project announced in December of 2022 its goal to plant 115,000 trees in Madagascar and Brazil, countries that have seen an unprecedented amount of deforestation.
The Canopy Project is not the only organization that is working to educate populations about mangroves and to restore them. The Mangrove Action Project (MAP), which is based in the U.S., has been working for over 30 years on education about and restoration of mangroves. MAP partners with a variety of organizations to help preserve and restore mangroves around the world.
So in honor of Earth Day, here is a complete guide as to why mangroves matter and why we should all care about their preservation and restoration.
Tarot of the Week by Star Bustamonte
Deck: The Fountain Tarot, by Jonathan Saiz, text by Jason Gruhl, designed by Andi Todaro, and published by Roost Books.
Card: Three (3) of Coins
This week could offer up opportunities for collaboration that incorporate just the right mix of resources and thoughtfulness, as well as skill, and inspiration. The end result holds great potential to be a creation that will stand the test of time.
Conversely, without extra focus and diligence, proposed plans and projects are more likely to run off the rails. This could result in misuse of resources, disorganization, and even allow the ego to overrule competence and common sense.
The Wild Hunt is not responsible for links to external content.
To join a conversation on this post:
Visit our The Wild Hunt subreddit! Point your favorite browser to https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Wild_Hunt_News/, then click “JOIN”. Make sure to click the bell, too, to be notified of new articles posted to our subreddit.