By Bree Anderson, Earth Month Olympia Outreach Coordinator
Did you roll up your sleeves to take action on Earth Day in Washington? If you missed the opportunity, there’s more where that came from.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a statewide proclamation for the second year to upgrade the environmental holiday to "Earth Month." This simple request came from a grass-roots campaign out of Olympia called “Earth Month Olympia.”
Earth Month is an environmental platform devoted to increasing participation, education and engagement with environmental causes for the entire month of April. Earth Month Olympia organizers curate an ongoing list of “Earth Month opportunities” on their website to showcase the variety of events in the Olympia area. Ultimately, the goal is to build strong relationships that keep more people connected and active throughout the whole year.
Earth Month Olympia was born in 2016 after a father-daughter duo raised nearly 50 Earth Flags that caught the attention of citizens who called to thank the city for their new beautification addition. Shortly after, Olympia Mayor Cheryl Selby, acknowledged Earth Month in an official city proclamation. This was soon followed by 2017’s major accomplishment — a proclamation from Gov. Inslee. This year, the City of Lacey joined the Earth Month movement by signing a proclamation and declaring, “One day is not enough."
Organizers install more than 100 Earth Flags in downtown Olympia each year to raise awareness and inspire engagement with local and national environmental organizations during the month of April.
You can take a stand to show our planet deserves more than a day and remain environmentally active during April’s Earth Month and throughout every month. Find out how to add your community to the growing list of cities celebrating April as Earth Month by contacting Earth Month Olympia’s Outreach Coordinator, Bree Anderson, at: info@earthmonthwashington.org.
