When did Earth Day stop being about the Earth?

At 6am on a Saturday, it started with a single tear falling from the corner of my eye. “I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees!” I thought.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I love the stories about ‘giving back’. I have heard heart-warming stories about how on Earth Day (and other days) people volunteer to help our war veterans and the elderly. I do love these stories. My grandfather, uncle and husband are war vets and luckily came home with few physical scars. My step-father in-law is in an assisted living home for Alzheimer’s patients. I absolutely agree with giving back and helping them. But, when did Earth Day stop being about the Earth?


On our birthdays, we celebrate our birth. We celebrate ourselves. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Veteran’s Day we celebrate mothers, fathers and veterans, right? So, when did we stop celebrating and giving back to the Earth on Earth Day?

Some people refer to me as a tree-hugger. I used to deny it. I was above all of that. After thinking about it, now I wear my Tree-hugger badge proudly. You would never know it by looking at me. I don’t wear the traditional tree-hugger garb. I am cleverly disguised as a yuppie designer chick. As a young adult, (didn't think I was young at the time) I lived in Fort Collins, Colorado. I got my degree from Colorado State University, go Rams! Formerly known as the Aggies, CSU is an agricultural school at heart. In college, in Fort Collins, Earth Day seemed to be all about the Earth. Appropriate. And why not be a tree-hugger? Someone needs to hug them, don’t you think?

I am a landscape designer by trade and I have been working on a large design that is slated to be installed this summer. It is an 8 acre Bird Sanctuary in Parker. How wonderful to have the ground-breaking on Earth Day! You would think that getting volunteers on Earth Day to plant trees would be a no-brainer. I guess despite my age, I can be naïve sometimes, still. I have been turned down more than once. Helping people on Earth Day seems to be the new trend. It’s my own fault really. I must be stressing too much the fact that, at least in my mind and heart, this isn’t for the neighborhood or the outlying community. As the saying goes, it’s for the birds! It’s for the birds, the butterflies, the bees, the deer, the bats, rabbits and foxes. It’s to put oxygen into the air, it’s habitat, it’s food, it’s shelter, it’s what I consider as truly giving back. It’s about giving back to the Earth, to the true natives of the area, the animals.

This year on Earth Day, lets make it about her. Do something for her and/or for all of her creatures.

• Plant some trees or even just one tree
• make a change in your daily routine that will continue throughout the year like recycling
• make a pledge to ride your bike one day a month or week to work or school (as weather permits)
• teach your children how to plant something and show them what the soil feels like and smells like

Become a tree-hugger! We come in all shapes and sizes and wear many different uniforms. It just means you care.


Tree-huggers unite! We are the Lorax and we speak for the trees, the butterflies and the bees!!