Earth Day – Charles County Public Library

Earth Day: Planet vs Plastics

webadmin — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:00:46 +0000

Earth Day is always on the same day every year, April 22nd. Earth Day is all about protecting the environment and figuring out what we can do to help. Every year, a unique theme addresses a topic of concern. This year, the topic is “Planet vs. Plastic”. In this blog post, you will find fun facts about Earth Day and how to reduce plastic use.

*CCPL Staff picks are chosen by CCPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We’d love to hear your ideas too, so write to us and tell us what you’d recommend!*

Earth Day Facts

United States Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day after seeing the aftermath of an oil spill in California in 1969. The first Earth Day was then celebrated in 1970.
The average American uses 80-100 gallons of water daily to flush toilets, do laundry, and take daily showers.
There will be more plastic than fish in our ocean by 2050.
Americans produce 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (or what we commonly refer to as garbage) annually, an average of 5 pounds per person daily.

How can I reduce waste and overuse of resources and make everyday eco-friendly choices?

Use a reusable bag Instead of plastic bags when shopping. One reusable bag can replace 600 plastic bags in its lifetime.
Use a reusable cup or bottle instead of getting one-time-use plastic bottles.
If something can be fixed, fix it rather than replace it. When replacing items, try to recycle them or donate them so they can have another life.
Participate in a community clean-up to help keep our land beautiful and clean
Try making art out of plastic bottles and recycled cardboard like cereal boxes.

Books

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia by Miranda Paul

Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred.

Upcycled Plastic Projects by Marcy Morin and Heidi E. Thompson

What to do with old plastic toys, bottles, jugs, and bags? Recycling is great, but upcycling is better! Repurpose old plastic into cushy pillows, quirky troll villages, and a funky bird feeder! Get eco-creative with more than ten easy, upcycled crafts.

What a Waste by Jess French

Everything you need to know about what we’re doing to our environment, good and bad, from pollution and litter to renewable energy and plastic recycling. This environmental book will teach keen young ecologists about how our actions affect planet Earth. Discover shocking facts about the waste we produce and where it goes. Did you know that every single plastic toothbrush ever made still exists? Or that there’s a floating mass of garbage more significant than the USA drifting around the Pacific Ocean? It’s not all bad news, though. As well as explaining where we’re going wrong, What a Waste shows what we’re doing right! Discover plans already in motion to save our seas, how countries are implementing schemes that have a positive impact, and how your waste can be turned into something useful. Every small change helps our planet!

Plastic: Past, Present, and Future by Eun-Ju Kim

Plastic use is a big problem, but when did we start using plastic? And why? Start a journey through the life cycle of plastic to learn how plastics are produced, the many uses of plastics throughout the last century, how our plastic use has spiraled out of control, and some ideas for what we can do about it. The whole story about plastic is filled with information to empower children to make choices that will affect their future.

Black Beach: A Community, an Oil Spill, and the Origin of Earth Day by Shaunna and John Stith

Based on actual events, this picture book tells the story of the first Earth Day through the eyes of a young girl named Sam.

Earth Day by Emma Carlson Berne

Earth Day is a celebration of our beautiful planet. On this holiday, people come together to clean up land and water, plant trees, and enjoy nature. Sing along as you explore Holidays in Rhythm and Rhyme! Includes online music access.

The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics by Susan Hood

Hood’s poems highlight the threat of plastic and show how it hurts our planet’s health. You’ll discover how scientists use jellyfish snot and other methods to reduce plastic pollution faster. Hood then introduces readers to young activists standing up and speaking out for change– and inspires you to change how you think about plastic!

Washed Ashore: Making Art from Ocean Plastic by Kelly Crull

Angela Haseltine Pozzi makes animal sculptures from plastic that washes up on beaches. Photos of these sculptures are paired with facts about featured sea creatures and the impacts of plastic on sea life.

Recycle and Remake by Hélène Hilton

Discusses the importance of recycling and reusing materials while providing instructions for craft projects, including a party piñata, a bee hotel, and a cardboard castle.

Earth Day by Joanna Ponto

Describes the history and traditions of Earth Day, including crafts and recipes.

***Earth* *Day*** by Linda Lowery

In simple text and illustrations, explain how and why Earth Day became an international holiday, calling global attention to the problems of pollution, environmental destruction, and waste of natural resources.

The Day the River Caught Fire: How the Cuyahoga River Exploded and Ignited the Earth Day Movement by Barry Wittenstein

After the Industrial Revolution in the 1880s, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire almost twenty times, earning Cleveland the nickname “The Mistake on the Lake.” Waste dumping had made fires so routine that local politicians and media didn’t pay them any mind, and other Cleveland residents laughed off their combustible river and even wrote songs about it. But when the river ignited again in June 1969, the national media picked up on the story and added fuel to the fire of the recent environmental movement. A year later, in 1970, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency, leading to the Clean Water and Clean Air Acts, and the first Earth Day was celebrated. It was a celebration, a protest, and the beginning of a movement to save our planet.

Earth Day-Hooray! by Stuart J. Murphy

A drive to recycle cans on Earth Day teaches the Maple Street School Save-the-Planet Club children about place value.

Earth-Friendly Earth Day Crafts by Veronica Thompson

Shares instructions for creating Earth-themed craft projects, including turning recycled paper into a barrette, giving old shoes new life with painted shark portraits, and building a beehive out of used straws.

Celebrating Earth Day by Elaine Landau

Read about what Earth Day means, Earth Day at school, and what you can do to keep our planet clean.

Sources

Earth Day DIY: Wildflower Seed Bombs

webadmin — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 11:00:01 +0000

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It’s Earth Day! To celebrate, we wanted to share an awesome DIY project to help spread some springtime cheer. We’re going to be making wildflower seed bombs!

These ‘bombs’ are packed with wildflower seeds that are native to Maryland. They help boost our natural ecosystem through attracting and feeding butterflies, hummingbirds, and honeybees, which are essential pollinators for our environment. It’s important to support our natural plants and native species of flora by planting things that won’t compete for resources with native plants. Non-native plants are called ‘invasive’ because they take over whatever areas they are planted in, leaving no room for our awesome native species!

You can find seeds that thrive in our area through something called the “Plant Hardiness Zone Map”. Here in Maryland we live in ZONE 7. The zones are determined by the climate – or the weather of where you live! It’s an easy way to figure out if a plant is going to survive and thrive in your backyard.

When you know your plant hardiness zone, you can select seeds and plants that are best suited to the specific conditions in your area. In Zone 7, the climate typically features mild winters with temperatures that rarely drop below 0°F (-17.8°C). This means you have a wide variety of plants to choose from that can withstand these conditions. From colorful flowers like tulips and daffodils to delicious vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, your options are plentiful. By selecting plants that are well-suited to your zone, you can create a beautiful and thriving garden that will bring joy and beauty to your backyard all year round.

Supplies:

Old newspaper, construction paper, or other recycled paper
Seeds – you can find packets of wildflower seeds in lots of different stores, or check your local seed library!
A blender (remember to ask an adult’s permission first!)
A strainer
A large bowl
A mold of your choice (such as a cookie cutter)

Step 1: Begin by tearing or cutting your paper into small pieces and soaking them in water for a few hours. A paper shredder helps make things easier, but if you don’t have one, you can use scissors to cut your paper into smaller pieces– the smaller, the better.
Step 2: Once the paper is soft, blend it into a pulp using your blender and strain out the excess water.
Step 3: Next, mix in the wildflower seeds with the paper pulp. You can also add in some dried flower petals or herbs for extra color and fragrance, or you can also mix in things like dried, used coffee grounds or tea leaves as fertilizer! You can also try using food dye to color your pulp, just beware it might stain your hands, so don’t forget to wear gloves! Use the mold to shape the mixture into small balls or other shapes, and let them dry for a day or two.
Step 4: Once your seed bombs are dry, they are ready to be planted! Simply toss them into a patch of soil or a garden bed, water them regularly, and watch as your homemade seed bombs sprout into a beautiful garden. Enjoy the process of creating green spaces with your own hands and bring a little bit of nature into your life.

Earth Day is April 22nd, so get your hands dirty and be a part of the celebration by spreading beauty and supporting biodiversity with these wildflower seed bombs. Let’s make our world a greener and more vibrant place, one seed bomb at a time! Happy Earth Day!

Enchanting Earth Art

webadmin — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 11:00:22 +0000

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Earth Day is a day we celebrate in April and what better way to celebrate it than with Earth (or Land) Art! Some of you may be asking, what is Earth Art? It is the creation of art using materials found in nature and the land itself. Earth art can give people a new appreciation for the Earth by reminding them of its beauty and can bring more awareness to how important it is that we preserve it.

While ancient cultures were the first to use the earth as a form of expression, Land or Earth art became an art form in the 1960’s. Inspiration was drawn from ancient natural structures such as Stonehenge, the Nazca lines in Peru, and even the Pyramids in Egypt. This art movement was rooted in conceptual and minimalism art and fueled by the environmental movement.

Earth Art originally was a site-specific work of art, but contemporary artists are bringing it into the galleries. Contemporary Earth artists are taking this different approach with climate change in mind. These artists are attempting to represent Earth as a living, breathing entity that changes over time. They are striving to give us an appreciation for the Earth, and to eradicate the ignorance that leads to its destruction.

This Earth day get out there and experiment with Earth Art! Get a group together and go see what you can create. Don’t forget to take pictures. Some artists visit their Earth Art every season and take pictures to see the ways in which it has changed. This is something you could do as well!

For inspiration look at the examples below.

Artist: Jon Foreman

Artist: Precious Okoyomon

Artist: Spencer Byles

Artist: Unknown

Artist: James Brunt

Artist: Robert Smithson