Each year’s celebration has a theme
In 2016, the theme of Earth Day was “Trees for the Earth” with the goal of planting 7.8 million trees in time for Earth Day’s 50th anniversary in 2020.
Scientists lend their voices and support
Although the March for Science began as its own separate movement in February 2017, by April of that year, it joined Earth Day marches and celebrations in Washington, D.C., and 360 other cities. While the group’s aims of protecting science from “manipulation by special interests,” and opposing policies that “threaten to further restrict scientists’ ability to research and communicate their findings” are not solely related to the health of the Earth, they do go hand in hand with supporting environmentalists and earth scientists.
Earth Day is still a grass-roots movement
While yes, Earth Day has become a global phenomenon, it still counts on local initiatives to demonstrate the power of change on a smaller but still-critical level. A few examples: In 2015, Tanzania led efforts to protect the Usambara Mountains, including teaching residents about how to conserve water, while in Puerto Rico, celebrations centred around the establishment of a new eco-park and an initiative began to keep the island garbage free for 100 days.
