Earth Day

Earth Day has been celebrated for about forty years and the results are significant. The fact that there is a designated day when we center our mind on planet earth has created interest in making our area a better place in which to live. Young people are impacted to most and are dedicated to making a difference.

We as youngsters celebrated Arbour Day and we planted trees and cleaned up around our school or nearby parks. In a way this was the beginning of awareness day or Earth Day. Stories depict our earth as a sick place which needs fixing. There is still time and will to make the changes necessary.

We live across from a single dad with a ten year old daughter. They relate well and are together much of the time and I hear conversations from time to time. Last week as she arrived home from school she confronted her father and asked what they were going to do for Earth Day.

He asked her what she wanted to do and she said, "something together to make the earth a better place". He seemed interested but said he was very busy and he would take care of it on the weekend. This satisfied his daughter for the time. Come Saturday morning I could hear the loud voice of the little one saying, "you promised me " and I knew he was trying to bypass the promise.

Almost to the point of being rude she pushed the point and they left to buy a tree to be planted in the backyard. Two hours later the tree was planted and the yard cleaned up. I overheard her saying to her dad, "thank you, and we will do this again next year". It was the school awareness program which made that event happen in yards all over Cape Coral.

The youth of the country will lead us through the future and make this earth more healthy for the next generation.