Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to highlight environmental issues across the planet and demonstrate support for environmental protection.
First held in the United States on April 22nd, 1970, it has since become the biggest secular observation day in the world, and an opportunity to highlight the issues and environmental challenges affecting our world.
On Earth Day 2016, the landmark Paris Agreement was signed by the United States, China, and some 120 other countries, Ireland included. This signing satisfied a key requirement for the entry into force of the historic climate protection treaty adopted at the United Nations Climate Change Conference the previous year.
In conjunction with Earth Day 2021 President Joe Biden will host a global climate summit, with earthday.org staging a broad range of events to highlight climate and environmental literacy, climate restoration technologies, reforestation efforts, regenerative agriculture, citizen science and clean ups that are taking place around the globe.
At Self Help Africa we’re committed to the objectives of Earth Day 2021, with regenerative agriculture, climate smart farming practices and reforestation efforts at the core of much of our work with small-scale farming communities in Africa.
In conjunction with Earth Day 2021 we’re launching a new campaign that is encouraging companies to offset their carbon footprint by planting trees with us in Africa.
These trees are being planted in collaboration with local communities, farming cooperatives and an array of local partners, and will see large and small-scale tree planting activities taking place in Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Uganda.
To find out more about our work in response to the climate challenges faced in sub-Saharan Africa visit here or read about Another One Million Trees and how you can get involved.
Meanwhile, our Global Citizenship Education team are available to do workshops with schools, community groups and others, talking about the impacts of climate change and the climate actions we can all take.