More than 4,500 people are supporting Earth Day by planning a hike in their corner of the Earth the weekend of April 21-22. Check out what the folks below are doing -- and join our growing team by planning a hike of your own to Celebrate Earth Day and raise money for the planet.
###
Ariana Kaiser Varnum and Michael Varnum - Los Angeles, California
My passion for protecting the environment started in the third grade, when my teacher taught our class about the importance of our planet's precious but threatened health. I remember taking field trips to places like the Audubon Canyon Ranch, near Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, being mesmerized by its beauty, and then learning about the perils it faced -- perils that also face our planet at large. From then on, I was a steadfast (if tiny) environmentalist. "Save the Rainforest" posters lined my childhood bedroom walls. A set portion of my monthly allowance was donated to Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. I proudly sported my "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" t-shirt. I'm happy to say that that passion has never died down -- saving the planet is still my #1 cause.
Like so many of us, I have been horrified to see the actions that the Trump administration has taken to undermine, reverse, and thwart the hard-won environmental progress our country has made, and the protections that are so direly needed. So now, more than ever, it's important to me to support organizations like the Sierra Club who are working tirelessly to protect our planet and to do whatever I can, personally, to help save Mother Earth.
In 2017, I discovered the Sierra Club's Hike for Earth Day fundraiser and was elated. The concept was so fun and follow-through was remarkably easy! My husband and I got to pick and plan our own Earth Day activity -- we explored The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in Southern California -- and use Team Sierra's super-user-friendly fundraising web page to share our adventure with our friends and family and raise money for the Sierra Club. We were blown away by how quickly and enthusiastically people donated! In fact, I was able to raise my target goal several times because I kept meeting it so quickly. As my mom explained, "It gave the rest of us a way to do something good for Earth Day, too!"
After signing up, I immediately felt welcomed into the Sierra Club family. Jessica, the Team Sierra manager, was incredibly helpful with our fundraising efforts, and made those of us who participated feel engaged and valued as part of a tangible community that was working together. I've been happy to remain in touch ever since. Imagine my thrill when a close friend pointed out that our picture from our Earth Day hike was featured in several different issues of Sierra magazine!
Most important, last year's Hike for Earth Day experience last helped turn Earth Day from just words on the calendar into an actual holiday for me and my husband. On our hike through the Antelope Valley poppy fields we agreed that we would celebrate Earth Day every year by participating in a Sierra Club event, and how that will become an annual tradition for our future family. We had such a great time participating and we're so happy we were able to raise the money for the Sierra Club and get to know people who share our interests. Really cool thing you've got going on! :)
###
Adam Kerns and Matt Wright - Fredrick, Maryland
The spark that prompted my involvement with the Sierra Club was my concern—shared by my husband Matt (above at right)—over the ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay, near where we live. We’ve come to realize just how fragile that ecosystem really is, and how the environmental health of the bay is integral to the well-being of the entire region. It’s incredible what a cleaned-up bay can produce—more crabs, more mussels, more recreational opportunities, more revenue; the list goes on. On the other hand, when we don’t take care of our natural treasures, entire regions suffer.
I’ve been a Sierra Club member for several years now and I fully support the work the organization is doing. I started to focus more on environmental advocacy efforts after the 2016 presidential election, and I think now more than ever, the work of the Sierra Club and other environmental advocacy organizations is critical to preserving the environmental progress we’ve made and fighting for earth's survival.
Matt and I returned recently from a trip to Costa Rica, where we were both struck by how respectfully Costa Ricans treat their environment, and the conservation ethic they’ve incorporated into their daily lives. Fully 25 percent of the country is protected in the national park system, and the people we met try to limit the use of air conditioning to times when it’s absolutely necessary, and use hot water only when the sun is out and can naturally heat up a hot water tank. There seems to be a more seamless relationship between Costa Ricans and their environment than we find in the U.S.
Earth Day is an important marker to remind us of both the beauty and the fragility of the planet we call home, and to remind the world how vital it is to care for the Earth—every day of the year. Last year, I organized a hike in Gambrill State Park, near Frederick, and it was a great success. This year, Matt, the dogs, and have organized an Earth Day hike on Sunday, April 22 in Catoctin Mountain Park in Frederick County.
If you live in the area, join us! And if you live further afield, please consider contributing to the work of the Sierra Club as generously as you’re able—no amount is too small.
###
Stephanie Goering - Madison, Virginia
I grew up in Wisconsin, attended college in Illinois, then lived in Hawaii for four years before moving to Virginia, where I’ve lived for the past eight years. I feel lucky to have lived in the heartland, as well as in places where I could see beaches and mountains.
It seems like I’ve always been aware that I should treat the earth with respect, but I really got interested in the environment over the past few years around the issue of climate change, and the fact that so many of our elected leaders deny that it’s happening, or that human activity is accelerating it.
The big spark that turned me into an activist was last year's Climate March in Washington, D.C. I went to protest President Trump’s threat that he would pull the U.S. pulling out of the Paris climate agreement. I've been active with a local environmental group ever since!
During my junior year of college, I spent the summer as a counselor at a wilderness camp. I went camping as a kid and hiked a bit, but that was the extent of my outdoor knowledge. As a counselor I taught teenage girls how to canoe, portage how to start a fire—you name it. Then on the first 3-day canoe trip that I led into the wild, I managed to get us lost at the first fork in the river. We hadn't even been away from camp for more than five minutes! Luckily, we regained our bearings, and the rest of the trip was uneventful. But I used the experience as a teaching moment for the girls and for myself, to look at the map and navigate!
I'm hosting an Earth Day 5K run on Saturday, April 21—the day before Earth Day—and then go on a hike with my husband and our boys on Earth Day itself.
###
Check out other Celebrate Earth Day events going on around the country.