With Earth Day here on April 22, many people celebrating. Personally, I think that every day should be celebrated like Earth Day, because it’s not like the Earth only comes around once a year! However, let’s look at some ways that NECC students can celebrate this year in person, and remotely.
Sadly, due to the pandemic there are more virtual celebrations rather than in-person, but that isn’t stopping you from masking up and stepping outside!
Some ways to celebrate this year could be to clean up some town or state parks that may be close by.
There are many state parks in the surrounding towns that definitely are in need of some TLC this time of year. There is a state park in Newburyport that you and some friends could visit for a hike and try picking up some trash you find along the way! If trees aren’t really your style there is also Salisbury, Seabrook, or Hampton beach that are very nice to visit and in between some trash grabbing there are also some huge shells to find.
These beaches are about a 20 minute drive from the Haverhill campus, and the Maudslay State Park in Newburyport is about 15 minutes away.
There are virtual celebrations all across the nation that can be found online, too. But if celebrating in your house on your computer isn’t really your thing, then you could always set up a zoom meeting with your friends and start planting some flowers or vegetables in the comfort of your own home or backyard. Personally, I think that I might reach out to some of my friends that go to NECC and set something like that up.
There are also ways to celebrate Earth Day all year long. Some ways to celebrate or just be more environmentally conscious overall could be to start recycling more. Yes, your household may already recycle, but do you wash your cans out before putting them in the bin or did you know that the plastic tops on water bottles cannot be recycled? There is always more room for growth and learning.
Some other ways to recycle are to make DIY’s out of the things you recycle. For example, the individual egg holders in egg cartons are great for propagating a plant or starting a new one altogether, or a painted vegie can make a great pencil holder or a pot for a plant. You could also start using reusable water bottles instead of the plastic ones, or if you are using the plastic water bottles you can refill them a few times before recycling, instead of just letting them pile up in your room until your mom finds out. There are recycling bins that can also be found all over the campuses, so be diligent in what you’re throwing away.
Celebrating Earth day for the 51st year in 2021 is going to be different than the 49 years before the pandemic; however, there isn’t a wrong way to spread awareness of how we’re affecting the environment or little ways we can help. Unless it is violent awareness. Then chances are it’ll be a wrong way to spread awareness. Stay safe this Earth Day, mask up and spread awareness.
