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MILROY -- Our planet is an amazing place, but it needs our help to thrive. That's why each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from pollution and deforestation.
By participating in activities like picking up trash and planting trees, the world will remain a happier, healthier place to live today and every day.
Whipple Dam State Park, located in Petersburg, hosted a Spring Spruce Up on Saturday. Volunteers cleaned up the park to get it ready for the summer season.
Work included leaf raking, spreading mulch, picking up fishing litter and basic trail maintenance. The park staff provided volunteers with tools and other equipment.
Poe Valley State Park, Penn Township, was the site of Earth Day Weekend Tree Planting on Saturday. Park staff and volunteers teamed up to plant trees in the campground areas.
"We had eight people show up to help us plant trees in the Poe Valley campground," said Kylie Orndorf, environmental education specialist for the Reeds Gap State Park Complex.
"We were really happy with the turnout, the sun shining down on us made for a great day," she added. "We successfully planted 85 trees throughout our campground -- 50 Red Oaks and 35 Chestnuts."
Orndorf is hopeful that these trees will provide more shade for her campers and privacy between camp sites in the coming years.
"This volunteer tree planting crew was enthusiastic and, as a group, we got all the trees in the ground in under an hour and a half. All were glad to have been involved in the planting."
Earth Day began in 1970 as more Americans and people across the globe realized the environmental impact caused by humans. Before the 1970s, many people considered air and water pollution to be an expected part of life.
Celebrating Earth Day each year is vital because it recognizes the harm caused to the environment, while showing support across the globe for protecting the Earth.
This day is meant to help raise awareness of environmental issues through rallies, service projects, conferences and other outdoor activities. Although Earth Day began as a small grassroots movement, its existence has propelled the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, the passage of the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, Water Quality Improvement Act, Federal Occupational Health and Safety Act and others.
The Earth is an amazing ecosystem which allows many types of living organisms to interact and survive in the ideal conditions for life -- not too warm and not too cold with the perfect amount of water. Technology today also allows us to see how the use of the Earth's resources is affecting people, both today and in the future.