Day 1, April 18:

Earth Day 2020 Boston Facebook Live Rally, 10 am–1 pm

Kick off Earth Week by joining Boston Earth Day’s Facebook live event. Throughout the day, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from various experts (such as City Councilor Michelle Wu and Mass Audubon’s very own Climate Change Program Director, Alexandra Vecchio), engage with others in the Massachusetts climate action community, and listen to some great music.

Day 2, April 19:

Take the Pledge to Vote, All Day

A consistent voter wields the power of voice. Mass Audubon and the Environmental Voter Project are working together to remind you to vote in each election. These simple reminders can dramatically increase someone’s likelihood of voting.

Day 3, April 20:

Mass Audubon Virtual Climate Café, 7–8:30 pm

Join Mass Audubon’s Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary to discuss and engage in climate solutions. While we’re socially distancing, login and learn about the origins of Earth Day, find out more about greenwashing, and discover how you can be involved and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Registration is required. A link to the virtual cafe will be sent out approximately four hours in advance of the start time.

Day 4, April 21:

Electric Cars Are Greener Than You Think 12–1 pm

Join the Green Energy Consumer Alliance in discussing electric vehicles and climate change. Learn how clean electricity mixes, especially those implemented locally in towns and cities across Massachusetts, are guiding us towards a zero-carbon future.

ACE’s 6th Annual Earth Week Climate Teach-In, 1–2 pm

This is a great event for educators and their students that includes climate change trivia, Q&A with special guests, and climate curriculum in celebration of Earth Day.

Ask me Anything (AMA): Climate Change and Wetland Restoration – Submit Your Questions at 2 pm

Ever wonder about the mysterious, climate fighting power our local wetlands wield? Hop on over to @MassAudubon’s Instagram Story to submit your questions to Lauren Kras, Mass Audubon’s Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary Director. Lauren will answer the questions on April 23. *You must have an Instagram account to submit a question*

Day 5, April 22 (Earth Day):

Earth Day Youth Climate Strike: Day One, All Day

• Day one of the three-day virtual youth climate strike begins with collective power, unity, and environmental justice through storytelling and community building. Strike with Us’ National Live Stream: Storytelling highlights the voices of people on the frontline of climate change, Indigenous, and POC (people of color) leaders. Register >

• You can also join two local strikes: Boston Youth Climate Strike, 9 am–8 pm and Worcester Youth Climate Strike: Environmental Justice, 7–8 pm

Eyewitness: Earth Day Storytelling Slam, 12–1:30 pm

Climate Generation’s live, national event aims to share personal experiences about climate change including stories, poems, and musical performances. 

Day 6, April 23:

Earth Day Youth Climate Strike Day Two, All Day

• Today’s focus is fossil fuel divestment. At Strike with Us’ National Live Stream: Divest, participants can find out how corporations are investing in the climate crisis by investing in fossil fuels, and why stopping this is one of the most important ways we can address the climate emergency. Register >

• You can also join the Worcester Youth Climate Strike: Divest, 12–1 pm and 7–8 pm

Food and Agriculture Seminar, 9 am–12 pm

In partnership with Earth Day Network, We Don’t Have Time’s 2020 Climate Conference includes this international seminar on food and agriculture’s impact on climate change globally. Tune in to learn from speakers from the UN, Project Drawdown, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.

AMA: Climate Change and Wetland Restoration, 2 pm

Lauren Kras, Mass Audubon’s Tidmarsh Wildlife Sanctuary Director, is taking over our Instagram account to answer all YOUR questions about Climate Change and Wetland Restoration! Hop on over to @MassAudubon’s Instagram story to see these questions answered live. *You must have an Instagram account to view our story*

Day 7, April 24:

Earth Day Youth Climate Strike Day Three, All Day

• The final day of striking focuses on the urgency of effecting political change through inspiring youth across the nation to register to vote. Participate in a digital, voter registration challenge to see which region of the country can register the most voters and call on elected officials to support advocacy. Register >
• You can also join the Worcester Strike: Political Action, 12–1 pm and 7–8:30 pm

Birds, Bark, and Brews (21+), 4–5 pm

Raise a glass to mother nature while learning about the basics of birding and tree identification! Zoe Davis, Project Coordinator at Climate Ready Boston, will host Tree ID 101 and bring her extensive background in urban climate resilience planning, climate municipality preparedness, and land stewardship to the lesson.

Day 8, April 25:

Climate Hackathon, 9 am–12 pm

This isn’t a broadcast, it’s a hackathon! Working in small groups, hackathon-ers will explore communication, design, technology, and sustainability to work towards solving the climate crisis. You don’t have to be a computer programmer to participate.

Looking for other ways to engage this month?

Tune into our last AMA of April. Submit your questions about Climate Change and Urban Food Systems on April 28 at 2 pm on our Instagram for Nia Keith, Mass Audubon’s Statewide Climate Change Education Manager, to answer them on Thursday, April 30!

For 50 years, the entire world has gathered on one day to celebrate our environment. Since 1970, Earth Day reminds us that we have the power to protect our planet and effect change. This year, Earth Day’s theme, climate action, urges us to once again use our voices and tackle the current climate crisis.

During the entire month of April, Mass Audubon is celebrating climate action in commemoration of Earth Day, April 22. Here are some tips on how you can join us:

Read a Book About Climate Change

If you’re suddenly finding yourself with much more time on your hands, sit back, relax, and read a good book about your world and climate change. Here are 12 books about climate solutions as inspiration for action and a source of hope.   

Reading can help us build connections to the world around us and understand how climate change impacts that world. Once you learn about the climate crisis through a good book, you might feel better equipped, maybe with new climate language, to communicate to your friends, family, and community why they should care about it.

Channel Learning Through Art

Artistic expression can combat feelings of anxiety or stress that come with dealing with the novel coronavirus. Take some time to get creative with your household: paint, draw, or color your favorite part of the environment or a special place that you love to visit.

After you’re done, do some research with your household and talk about how climate change affects the subject of your art. Then, draft a plan for what you can do to protect that subject together and start taking action.

Need ideas? Mass Audubon offers nature coloring pages that depict Massachusetts’ wildlife! Share your masterpieces and climate action plans with us by tagging @MassAudubon on social media. You can also email us.

Explore your Neighborhood (Safely!)

With spring’s warmer temperatures comes the desire to go outdoors. If you can do so while maintaining appropriate social distance and compliance with any public health advisories, take a walk or bike around your neighborhood. Getting into the habit of biking can inspire more eco-friendly methods of commuting to work once we return to the daily grind, providing a muscle-powered alternative to cars.

Additionally, Project Drawdown explains that going on walks around our neighborhood can provide us with insight about its infrastructure—namely, how “walkable” it is. In other words, your walk can help you determine if your neighborhood prioritizes safe, walking-based travel, or if you would need to depend on greenhouse gas emitting cars to get around. You can take these insights to your local, elected official to advocate for a more walkable community.

Join a Digital Group to Talk About Climate Change

It’s easy to start feeling isolated and disconnected while socially distancing, and it can be hard to find ways to talk about these feelings. Similarly, people may feel isolated when it comes to talking about climate change. A recent study indicated that over half of all Americans say they rarely or never talk about climate change with their friends and family.

Many have taken to the web to stay engaged with their friend groups and communities during COVID-19 through video calls or online forums. These very tools can also help address any anxiety or isolation you may feel talking about climate change.

For example, Mass Audubon has a Climate Action Facebook Group, where people can create friendships and community over a shared dedication to climate action. You can also join Mass Audubon’s Drawdown Ecochallenge team to fight climate change as a digital community. Community learning and discussion help make social distancing a little easier, while providing us with hubs for climate action.

Donate to Mass Audubon’s Climate Change Program

Mass Audubon’s Climate Action Program can only succeed with your help. Your support makes a difference in our collective fight for a livable planet. Our members, donors, and volunteers provide critical support to keep our climate action initiatives impactful and active.

From building a corps of climate action leaders at all ages, advocating for impacting climate policies, to protecting and stewarding the most important land, your support will help us realize our vision of a carbon neutral Massachusetts.

Start Celebrating

Earth Day’s 50th anniversary gives us the opportunity to engage in climate action close to home, while also building our collective power with others from both in our community and around the world. Social distancing has shown us that collective engagement is still possible and more important than ever. This month, join Mass Audubon for climate action, inspiration, and community!

Stay tuned: Earth Month is the perfect way for all of us to come together and celebrate community climate action. If you found these tips useful, stay tuned for an Earth Week Climate Action Calendar, full of even more actions, webinars, and events you can partake in!