Celebrating Earth Day
“All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts. The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants and animals, or collectively the land”.
Aldo Leopold
The first Earth Day in 1970 was organized on the spring equinox by passionate advocates with a deep concern about the health of our rivers and lands across the country. Twenty million people organized across the country to raise awareness about the importance of our planet and our responsibility to maintain clean air and water for the health of our community. Many acknowledge that it was this event that helped inspire landmark legislation such as the clean water act (1972) and endangered species act (1973).
Today, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide and has naturally taken on different meanings to people across the globe. At Global Travel Alliance, it is a reminder of the important work we do in partnership with teachers to get outside, celebrate this awesome planet, and explore the earth’s wonders from National Parks to Belize barrier reefs, Costa Rican jungles, and much more. It is also a time to thank those students and teachers who have journeyed far and wide to explore new places with us.
The partnership between teachers and our team of educators is built around a recognition that amazing educational opportunities present themselves when we take ourselves out of the familiar. This allows us to see ourselves as part of something bigger. When we do that, there is the potential for inspiration, engagement, critical thinking and endless possibilities for the inquisitive mind.
Take, for example, students encountering a sea turtle along the Belize barrier reef. To the artistic mind, the texture, shape and form of the sea turtle moving through this aquatic environment inspires creativity and new ideas. The scientific mind ponders how the shape and form allow for apparent effortless movement through a liquid environment. There are many paths to developing our connections to the land, sea, and creatures but it all starts with spending time outdoors. When that is done under the expert guidance of teachers and mentors, amazing things happen.
So, on this Earth Day 2021, we’d like to recognize all of the students who have joined us in exploring some of the most fascinating landscapes on the planet and lent their creativity, joy, and sense of adventure to explore the unfamiliar and to give back. Thank you to those students who explored Yellowstone National Park and then who helped restore habitat for westslope cutthroat trout in Montana. Thank you to the students who assisted with biodiversity inventory on the Belize barrier reef or monitoring the lives of manatees. And, thanks to those students who stood with us in wide-eyed amazement at the awesomeness of the snow capped peaks of the Teton Mountain range set against a crystal blue sky.
We remain ever grateful to the passionate and adventure-loving educators who prioritize educational travel programs in their curriculum, partnering with us year after year to provide their students with life-changing experiences and lasting memories.
It is our hope that those experiences stay with you today and have inspired you to continue bridging your community with the land and sea as you seek inspiration, joy and comfort in the natural world.
“When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect”.
Aldo Leopold
