How will you be spending Earth Day?

April 22nd is Earth Day and where better to enjoy it than on beautiful Martha's Vineyard?   

We are so lucky to work and live on this special island and have so many wonderful and protected places to honor mother earth. 

2020 is the 50th anniversary of this celebrated day which was created by US Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Democrat from Wisconsin, on this day in 1970.   The aim was to raise awareness across the nation with rallies in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago , Los Angeles and New York to name a few.  The movement launched the decade towards an awareness for the environment that was to continue to grow,  and the following year saw 25% of the US population declaring that protecting the environment was an important goal. 

Fortunately for us all, the Vineyard benefits from many organisations that are committed to its protection. The Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS), Land Bank and Sheriffs Meadow are just three of the organisations that contribute to the preservation of our little pocket of the planet. Check out their websites for more information on how to get involved and do your part, as well as finding all the outdoor spaces on the island that can be enjoyed.

For that very first Earth Day in 1970, and according to the VCS website, the Vineyard held its very first beach clean up initiative, and so began an annual event that has families all over the island hit their local beaches with trash bags to fill.

For 2020, instead of all gathering on the 22nd, the Vineyard Conservation Society are encouraging everyone to celebrate “Earth Month” and, (while socially distancing), help clean our beaches, road sides and trails by picking up trash wherever you go out.  You can post a photo on social media and have the chance to win a prize! It’s a great opportunity to get some exercise, stay healthy, keep your distance and help the planet at this time. Check out this video created to celebrate 50 years of the VCS, which shows the early days of "Friends of the Island", (which is what it was first known as), right up to all the amazing things the organiseation is doing today.

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An "App" was developed by Sheriffs Meadow and is an essential guide to ALL the Vineyard public trails and paths to help you enjoy the Vineyards many outdoor spaces and avoid getting lost!   Check it out at TrailsMV for so much more information beyond the maps.

2020 is an unusual year and we will remember it like no other.  Covid - 19.  Some have said that mother earth is teaching us a lesson and allowing us all to take a breath.  Hitting a reset button if you like.   During this period of forced isolation and where for the first time in generations the world has been forced to stop - planes are grounded, people are stying indoors and no one is travelling anywhere.  The planet has been allowed to breathe again.   The irony of this Coronavirus pandemic, that is rendering humans who contract the virus unable to breathe, but is literally allowing the earth to breathe again.  There are reports of rivers running clearer,  and whilst the stories of dolphins in the Venice canals may be a stretch, the canals are reported to be clearer with little or no tourists flocking to the city. Stars are now visible in skies that are otherwise murky and polluted, and there is bird song in cities that would typically humm with the noise of traffic. 

We hope you enjoy this Earth Day, and reflect on how you might help to come together and protect and preserve our island, our country and our planet in some way.