On Earth Day!

Confession time: I love Earth Day. So much so that in college I wrote an entire paper on it's history and why it is so important! I believe every day is a day to celebrate and protect our planet, but I particularly love April 22^nd! I love that everyone talks about the facts, create beautiful art work, and share tips on how each and every one of us needs to change our ways to protect the only place we have to live.

Here are some Earth Day Facts. Some of these are about how Earth day came about and some are about why every day needs to be treated like Earth Day.

-Earth Day as we know it today was created in 1970 and marks the anniversary of our modern version of the environmental movement.

- It was a bipartisan effort. It was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a Democratic U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, whose co-chair was Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman.

-The first Earth Day led to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Endangered Species Act!

-It was originally just a US holiday, but in 1990 it went Global thus creating an even bigger impact.

I mentioned beautiful art work right? One of my favorite photographers, Joel Sartore's work is a big influence on me. His photo project the Photo Ark brings endangered animals to the forefront. He takes studio portraits of animals before they can go extinct. When you see his photos of these animals you can see their souls and you can't help but want to protect them. He always shares his work but it is particularly important when he shares on Earth Day. I also follow a lot of animal, environmental, and worldwide charities and they all share their favorite work. I always adore that google has a special doodle! This year it is of Jane Goodall!

And perhaps the best part of Earth Day is people talking about how we can all be better. There are so many small ways you can change your daily routine that will help so much in the long run! Some of my favorites are:

-Shut off the water when you are brushing your teeth! You can save gallons of water just by switching off that tap because you don't use it when you are actually brushing just when you rinse! So simple, but so important!

-Pass on plastic straws. When in restaurants just don't use them. There is no real need for them. If you are like me and use straws to avoid upsetting sensitive teeth, you can ask for no ice because your drink is already going to be cold. Plastic straws cannot be recycled and are so often found in oceans. If you really do need one for whatever reason you can get a heavy duty one and bring it with you! Every piece of plastic ever created since its invention is still on Earth. It takes near 400 years for it to break down.

-Another thing you can do in restaurants is bring your own tupperware when you think you will be bringing left overs home! Styrofoam isn't regularly recyclable and it takes 500 years to degrade. I got this tip from a friend of mine! I couldn’t believe I never thought of it!

-Bring reusable shopping bags when you shop! They are better for the environment and they fit more items which means less trips out to the car to bring them in the house.

I love celebrating Earth Day as well. For the past two years I have gone to river and park clean ups the weekend of April 22^nd. A team of people do a couple hours of work and all the trash that accumulates over the winter is easily removed! Last year on Earth Day I also Marched for Science! Earth Day is so important and it is so easy to change the world for the better if you just try.

~Laura!

Thoughts From Places: The Women March in Seneca Falls!

My Trip to Seneca Falls and the Finger Lakes

A week ago I went to Seneca Falls for the Women March! Seneca Falls is the birthplace of Women's Rights! In 1848, Seneca Falls held the First Women's Rights Convention! The Convention is famous for being the place the Declaration of Sentiments was presented by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. 170 years later 15,000 people marched for equality for all! While there were many solidarity marches throughout the world, including one in my hometown I thought that going to where it all started was extremely appropriate!

The March started at 10:30 am, but we got there a couple hours early to eat breakfast and get a good spot for the Rally. Seneca Falls is a small place and it's main street has a lot of cute shops. We had breakfast at a place called Wildflowers, which toted on its front windows that it was "Women owned and operated!" The line was out the door and everyone in it was a woman there to support the march!

The Rally was held in the Women'sRights National Historical Park, despite the Park's Center being closed due to the Government shut down. Habitat for Humanity donated generators so that the Rally would go on as originally they were going to get the electricity for the microphones and speakers. That kind of set the tone for the day. Not the shut down but the kindness of others.

All of the speakers at the Rally were phenomenal! There were professors and politicians and even the Bear Clan Mother. My favorites were Arlette Miller Smith and Lt. Governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. Miller Smith kicked off the Rally with a poem adaptation of "A Gathering of Women." She is a dynamic performer who captured her audience in the best possible way. She was such a powerful speaker. I taped her poem and I've watched it multiple times this week. It gives me strength (wanna watch it? Here's the link!). Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul was equally powerful when she talked about how New York is always ahead of its time. We were first to legalize gay marriage, first to give free college tuition for the middle class, first to legalize abortion, and first to hold a Women's Rights Convention, of course, which led us to be the first State East of the Mississippi River to grant full women's sufferage! Basically, not only to women rock so does New York!

My friends Mary, Anja, and I were near the front of the Rally and as such we were towards the back of the March. This was fine by me because on the way out of the park I got to see the front of the March and it put the entire thing in perspective. That and the fact that by the time we got to the end of the route most people had left. The March itself was a lot of fun. Hearing hundreds of people chant the same thing with all their hearts, seeing all of the amazing protest signs, and feeling all the love and support and hope in the air made me feel so much better.

After the March ran its route, those who could convened at the Communtiy Center to hear more amazing speakers talk about great topics such as disability, reproductive, LGBTQIA, and immigrant rights, pay equity, ending systemic Racisim and sexism, environmental justice, eradicating violence and sexual harrasment against women, and passage of the proposed ERA! That's what I loved about this March. It wasn't just women's issues but a lot of the issues facing Americans right now.

The Women March in Seneca Falls was a fantastic, uplifting experience that I'm so glad I got to go to. I believe the 15,000 of us that were there were a little bit a part of History. We took over Seneca Falls for a day to gain equality for all. I'm so thankful to the organizers, Seneca Falls and its citizens for welcoming us, and its police force for keeping us safe.

When in Rome, or in Seneca Falls we couldn't leave without seeing what there was to see. So we made our way down Fall St to the National Women's Hall of Fame! Our original plans saw us going to the National Park Center, but since it was closed due to the shut down it gave us an excuse to see the Hall (and a reason to go back, I always try to see the bright side)!

The Hall of Fame, which had free admission on the day of the March but is usually $4, was only a couple of rooms but it packed a powerful punch! So many plaques telling the amazing stories of so many inspiring women. Honestly, after the early morning start and the exhausting March it was a little hard to concentrate on those plaques. I'm sure that on another trip I would have been able to read more of them, but as it is I didn't read too many that I didnt know.

We went on, up then down Fall St, going into many of the shops, most of which had women working in them, including a small boutique, a shop called Women Made, and the visitor center! I picked up post cards and souvenir pennies, my staples in travel. Our last stop was to the Statue called "When [Susan B.] Anthony Met [Elizabeth Cady] Stanton" which depicts as you can probably tell the meeting of two great suffragettes being introduced to one another by Amelia Bloomer on May 12th, 1851! Seeing the most famous names in the Suffragist Movement was the perfect way to end our time in that birthplace of Women's Rights.

Seneca Falls is in the Finger Lakes district of New York State. This marks my first trip out that way. The Anthony-Stanton-Bloomer statue looks out over Van Cleef Lake and we also got to see northern bit of Seneca Lake when we went to Geneva for dinner! We got there at the perfect time and were able to catch the sunset! It was absolutely gorgeous!

If you ever get the chance, you won't regret going to the Finger Lakes and while you're there you should make a point of visiting Seneca Falls, even if there isn't a March going on!

~Laura!