April 22, 2020
Earth Day 2020: Celebrating 50 Years
Fifty years ago, Earth Day gave a voice to an emerging public consciousness about the state of our planet (leaded gas, air pollution, and more) and put environmental concerns at the forefront of people’s minds.
Today, Earth Day is widely recognized as one of the largest observances in the world. More than one billion people every year mark this day as a day of action to change human behavior and create local, national and global policy changes.
The fight for a clean environment continues with urgency, as climate change becomes more and more apparent. For the Sasaki Foundation, we recognize this urgency and celebrate the concept of this movement, today on Earth Day’s 50th anniversary and every day, through our research initiatives, community engagement events and youth programs.
Entering the third year of our Design Grants program, proactive approaches to climate adaptation still remains one of our four focus areas in our call for proposals. We are seeking responses to extreme heat, stormwater and flash flooding, and coastal and river flooding. Furthermore, in cities like Boston, these issues—especially the urban heat island effect and flood risk—disproportionately impact communities of color and low-income communities. What is your vision for a collaborative approach to mitigate the impacts of climate change? Are you doing something to increase climate resilience in your community that can scale to greater impact? If you have ideas, we encourage you to apply for one of our design grants.
Charles River, Cambridge MA.
We’re also hosting a virtual speaker series, “Climate Resilience in 2020 and Beyond”, on Wednesday, May 20th from 5:45-7:00pm. What actions, big or small, can be taken to move the needle on climate change? Who are the biggest and most influential players in the fight to address climate change? How can communities who may have limited resources become as resilient as possible? Panelists from Sasaki, Boston Harbor Now, the Boston Society of Landscape Architects and more will address these questions and many more thought-provoking issues surrounding climate change. We’d love for you to join us: RSVP today.
Earth Day today marks 50 years of global activations that aim to mobilize more than one billion people worldwide, with the goal of taking transformative action for our planet. How are you participating in the movement?