Today marks 50 years of celebrating Earth Day. From space.com you can read where it started and about a challenge this year to build a planet with Lego.

Fifty years after an astronaut’s photo of our home planet gave rise to the first celebration of Earth Day, NASA has turned to another medium to “piece together” a planetary formation challenge.

While you may not be inclined to work toward NASA’s Lego challenge, there are other resources there for child and adult alike to read and experience.

I ask you also to consider what you will do to preserve the earth and make your “footprint” less taxing to our world.

Here’s what spring and Earth Day means to me.

Flower stems are pushing their heads through the ground, sprouting leaves and flowers are opening. Even though we got some snow in the last week, it’s all melted here now.

I’m looking forward to gardening this year. Having raised beds in my backyard means I can look after them right here at home, once the garden centres set up for plant pick-up. I’m thankful that I will be able to get plants and pick them up curbside, even if this covid situation lasts awhile longer.

This year, most likely, our family will need to plant their own garden and that I’ll be planting by myself at home without help from the grandchildren as we’ve been doing since the oldest one turned three.

Now that they have some of their own tools, they can help their parents plant, even if it’s a small project. Perhaps later when we can circulate and spend time together again, we can share the fruits of the garden.

Trees are in bud and the sky is clear. Fewer planes means the air is cleaner too.

It’s been shown also that the people of Punjab can now see the Himalayan mountains again because the air pollution has cleared so much during isolation and lockdown with Covid-19.

The birds seem to be singing more. Perhaps they are happy too, if a bird can be so. Their songs do sound cheerful.

Covid-19 has already wreaked a lot of damage in the cost of lives. We’ve been forced to slow down and drive less. Very few planes are flying, perhaps only those required for emergency flights.

As I googled Earth Day, I came across a site for children’s activities to celebrate this day. It’s called Tinkerhouse. Perhaps parents with young children at home would like to check this link. And Buggy and Buddy too.

Earth Day is only one day and, in reality, we can spend a lifetime doing what’s best for our planet. If each of us does something every day, such as composting, recycling what we don’t use, and using the earth resources wisely, we can make a difference.