This year on April 22 for Earth Day, many organizations are working in conjunction with Metro Parks Officials to clean up five parks within the Columbus area. Leaders hope to encourage involvement of congregations within local communities. A day of services can be a great teaching moment as well as an opportunity to give back.
In an opinion article for the Columbus Dispatch, Suzette Martinez Sandring offered a faith-inspired reflection on Earth Day 2019 that considers the necessity of change in our attitude and action toward the rest of creation.
Environmental issues have increasingly become a partisan problem. However, faith groups are trying to build bridges by advocating that environmental issues not only affect the planet, but all humans as well. They offer that environmental protection and economic prosperity can go hand in hand if political parties attempt to work in harmony.
Since the founding of Earth Day in 1970, faith communities have become more and more involved with the activities of the day. Various religions have taken the lessons to heart, urging individuals to be more aware of their personal impact on the environment as well as their impacts as a community. The focus of Earth Day for 2008 is climate change and its detrimental effects have become pressing issues for the world community
Buddhists Monks in the Himalayas are taking a stand to climate change. On Earth Day 2018, thousands of people came together in the village of Yerat to plant trees. The region is rapidly losing glaciers, causing a shortage in water supply to the villages in the area who rely on snowmelt for water. The volunteers were inspired to participate due to their devotion to His Holiness Kyabgön Chetsang Rinpoche and his vision for "a more verdant and organic Ladakh."