What is Earth Day?

Earth Day happens every year on April 22nd. 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, and the theme is “Restore Our Earth”.  

The main objective of Earth Day is to increase awareness of environmental issues that the world faces as well as encouraging people to take an active role in protecting our planet and helping to combat some of the problems we face. The Earth Day organisation plays an important role in educating people on the issues faced globally, and the actions we can all take on climate change. 

How did it start?  

Earth Day began in 1970 in the United States when 20 million Americans protested serious environmental issues such as air pollution, toxic drinking water and the effects of pesticides on the environment. This caused the US President at the time, Richard Nixon, to create the Environmental Protection Agency which then introduced the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act.   

The original concept of Earth Day and the active part that the general population played in politic protests across the US, galvanised by the obvious impact pollution was having on the environment and the lack of action and responsibility governments and companies were taking in response to the danger, helped to solidify the day as an annual event.  

What about the UK?  

Here in the UK, the past 5 years have been marked by protests calling for more institutional action on climate change. The British Government have set a radical target of reducing carbon emissions by 78% by 2035 and intends to achieve it by increasing low-carbon investment, providing business and domestic incentives towards green transport and energy saving methods like insulation. The reasoning behind this 2035 deadline is the scientific advice accepted by the government, which states this as the deadline to keep average temperature rises close to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels.   

What about CATS?  

Here at CATS, we aim to do our part for conservation and the environment by using our expertise in tree surgery and forestry to maintain green spaces sustainably.   

As part of this effort, we remove and recycle all the waste from projects we work on and sell Woodsure Ready to Burn firewood.  

Woodsure is an organisation whose aim is to improve both the quality of firewood and reduce the impact of this fuel type on the environment.  

Their Ready to Burn certification scheme is an accreditation approved by the government’s DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) and goes hand in hand with the new Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020.  

Find out more about the Woodsure scheme by reading our blog – What is Woodsure approved firewood and why should you be buying it?   

We are also proud to work in close conjunction with local authorities to ensure both conservation areas and trees with protection orders are handled with the appropriate care.   

What can you do to help protect the planet and the environment on Earth Day?  

There are numerous ways to help contribute to the protection of our environment and, of course, we would encourage everyone to do so throughout the year rather than just on Earth Day. But Earth Day is a great excuse to get started considering the wealth of information that is shared during the event.  

You could introduce flowers and plants into your garden or other outdoor areas that would encourage pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, to visit. The RHS website is a great resource for learning which plants are great for attracting pollinators to your garden.  

You could try to reduce the amount of plastic that you use and non-recyclable waste you produce at home by trying to purchase brands that use recyclable materials in their packaging and buying more reusable products and less single-use products.  

You could get friends, family and neighbours together with a rubbish bag and some litter pickers (you can pick some up for less than £10 online!) and go out litter picking in your local area. Or you could scour the beach next time you visit and remove as much litter as you can, preventing it from making its way into the sea.  

You could reduce the amount of water you use by putting down the hose and installing a water butt to collect rainwater and using a watering can to water your plants.  

And we think one of the best ways to help the environment – involve children and young people as much as possible in your efforts! The more we teach the next generations about conservation and reducing our impact on the environment, the more likely things will improve in the future too.  

If you’d like to know any more about how we at Chris Arnold Tree Surgery are doing all we can to help the environment through our work or for any questions on how you can help, please feel free to get in touch. One of our friendly team members will be happy to answer your questions.  

To find out more about the Earth Day event, and the activities going on internationally, visit their website at www.earthday.org/