Earth Day 50th Celebration in Ann Arbor

In Ann Arbor, the Earth Day celebrations for 2020 will take place even though many live events have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Locally, the Ann Arbor Sustainability Office is taking the celebration online with the A2Zero 2020 Virtual Earth Day Celebration. Nationally, the Sunrise Movement and Youth Climate Strike are taking their events online with the Earth Day Live 2020, a 3-day live-stream.

Figure 1: Earth shot from nasa.govnasa.gov

 

History of Earth Day

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania in the 60’s and 70’s.  Water pollution was so bad the local news used to report on whether or not Lake Erie was on fire, again, because people kept dumping flammable oil and tires in the water. Near the steel mills in Pittsburgh, air pollution was so bad that, no matter how often people cleaned, everything was coated in a sticky black dust that got into your pores and lungs.

The first national Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 and about 20 million people in the U.S. participated (more here).  It was held as an environmental teach-in because of the air and water pollution and unsafe working environments arising from unregulated industrial development.  Senator Nelson from Wisconsin had the idea for Earth Day and enlisted Representative Pete McCloskey and activist Denis Hayes to help plan the event.  According to the EarthDay.org website, 10% of Americans including both Democrats and Republicans, demonstrated in 1970 at the first Earth Day. A photograph from the New York Times of huge crowds in New York City  on Earth Day in 1970 is here.

What is the tie between the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Earth Day? According to heritage.umich.edu, U. of M. held the first environmental teach-in one month prior to the first Earth Day and 15,000 people attended the event.  The national Earth Day was modeled on the U. of M. event and Ann Arbor, where U. of M. is located, and Ann Arbor have therefore always had a strong connection with Earth Day.

What was the first impact of the first Earth Day?  It was huge and included the establishment of the Environmental Protection Act in 1970, and the passage of the Occupational Safety Health Act in 1970,  the Clean Air Act in 1970, and  the Clean Water Act in 1972, according to earthday.org.

A2Zero Virtual Earth Day Celebration

For the 2020 Virtual Earth Day Celebration, the Ann Arbor City Hall Sustainability Office is live-streaming the events for the day! You can click on this link to register for the virtual event.  Once you register, you can access the activities online any time.  Also, if you’re interested, you can go to this page

 to complete a pledge online for activities you will undertake for Earth Day. 

The schedule of events is available here and events take place from 9 AM-8 PM.  It will be kicked off by Mayor Christopher Taylor, who will give an address on sustainability in Ann Arbor and the history of Earth Day.

Another highlight is a youth panel on “What Gives You Hope On Earth Day,” led by U.M. student Kristen Hayden and including W.C.C. student Zaynab Elkolaly at 2:30 PM.

If you’re looking for educational events, you can learn about Ann Arbor-specific programs, carbon neutrality, rooftop solar, wind energy, integrated pest management and more. Finally, there’s entertainment, too, including a couple of sessions of music, sustainability trivia, Earth Day BINGO, the movie "The Story of Plastic" and the reading of a children’s story, Mama Miti.

Get the Youth Out (-of-Doors, That Is)

The Ann Arbor A2Zero site also lists 10 kid-friendly Earth Day activities suitable for kids that will keep them engaged but safe during the pandemic. (Go here and scroll to the bottom of the page.)

Activities include: going on a nature scavenger hunt, building a “seed blaster” (you’ll have to read the description to find out what it is!), using a toilet paper tube to make a colorful wind sock, starting a meditation journal, and “Nature Lesson” videos from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. A number of these ideas are especially good at getting the kids out of the house, so they can have fun, education, and exercise on Earth Day!

Figure 2. The Great Lakes from nasa.gov

Earth Day Live, April 22-24 Live-stream

The Earth Day Live 2020 events are put on by the Youth Climate Strike and Sunrise movements. These events are youth-led and represent a growing concern about climate change and the environment, especially among our youth and teens.

The schedule of events for the 3-day live-stream is here, (scroll to find the events) The events include speeches, presentations, live music, meditations and calls to action.  The first day, April 22, will “focus on amplifying the voice of indigenous leaders and youth climate activists who are leading the movement to halt the climate crisis,” according to the website.

Additionally, there are 24 hours of action you can engage with, which you can find here.  Activities include sharing your air quality with a photo, cleaning up litter (solo), making a plant-based meal, contacting your representative and many more.

There Is No Planet B

Earth Day celebrations and events are taking place starting tomorrow, April 22 – April 24, 2020, because the Earth has limited resources for human needs, and, as the T-shirts say, there is no Planet B. Won’t you join in the celebration of the Earth, starting tomorrow and the work that must be done to sustain it, starting today?

This blogpost was written for the benefit of students at Washtenaw Community College and the community as part of my sabbatical activities for winter 2020.  I am solely responsible for the content and hold the copyright for the work. Feel free to use the information in this blog; just credit me with a link back to my blog! -Emily Thompson, Ph.D.

Setting My Chair in the Woods, Part I

Watching Berries Ripen

I was charmed a couple of years ago by an article from Hope Jahren about the Norwegian custom of setting a chair outside and sitting in it to watch berries ripen in the evening sun.  Because Norway is the land of the midnight sun and because this event goes on for hours, you'll never see it on prime-time TV or Instagram or TikTok.  

The point of this Scandinavian custom is simply to be, and to breathe in, and to breathe out, while enjoying nature.

“I Just Looking”

I once lost track of my child, very briefly. She was almost two years old and she simply disappeared from the house.   At the time, we lived on a steep property in the country next to a state forest, and I was a little panicky about finding her before she got into trouble.  I finally located her in a field to the side of the house, standing very still and serenely surveying the valley below.  I slowed my breathing, got calm, and gently asked her what she was doing.  Without ever taking her eyes off the view, she replied, “I just nooking (looking).” 

This tiny child was showing me just how important it is to be in nature, and to find yourself, by getting lost in the outside.

Forest Bathing

Another charming custom, this one from Japan, is called forest bathing or shinrin-yoku. According the Halie (2017), it involves quietly experiencing nature, in the woods, if possible.  You can sit, stand or lie down. You can slowly walk around and smell and touch the bark or be still and listen to the wind in the leaves.  The restorative power of nature is well-documented, so you’re likely to feel better at the end of forest bathing than at the beginning (more here).

The point of shinrin-yoku is to become centered by immersing yourself in the sights, sounds, smells and experiences of a calm, natural setting.

Figure 1. Setting my chair in the woods.

Setting My Chair in the Woods

Here is an exercise I first learned from Peggy Barlett (Emory University and Second Nature) and which I now teach, called "setting my chair in the woods."  This activity helps faculty from across the curriculum teach students about sustainability in all their very different courses.  Participants simply take a folding chair outside and sit in it, quietly, not doing anything, for 10 or more minutes.  When they come back inside, I ask them, what did you see? What did you hear?  What did you smell? How did you feel?  This exercise is popular because it's relaxing and it shows faculty how to create a oasis of calm for their students.  Moreover, it gives faculty and the students with whom they share it, a connection to place, our beautiful campus. Participants therefore gain a reason to engage in sustainability, so the place of campus is available for future generations.

The notion of setting your chair in the woods is that anyone with access to nature can create an oasis of calm.

Lab Time!

I love lab, so now it’s time to try out setting your chair in the woods for yourself.  If you have a folding chair or small side chair and access to the outside, try putting the chair outside and just sitting there for 10-20 minutes.  Breathe in, breathe out, look, listen, smell, touch. Repeat!  This is best if you can do it in an area with trees like a park, your yard, the school playground, or wherever!

Or if, in the time of the coronavirus pandemic, you are sheltering in place in your apartment or house, you can set up a natural space at home and spend restorative time there!  See if you can include natural lighting and a plant or two, especially a fragrant one.

Figure 2. Setting my chair in nature at home during the coronavirus.

Science of the Restorative Power of Nature

Spending time in the out-of-doors can be restorative, according to several scientific studies.  In one by White et al. (2019), over 20,000 English participants experienced varying amounts of time outdoors.  Those who spent 120 or more minutes per week out of doors self-reported having better health and well-being. 

In another by Li et al., (2007), a study of 12 individuals showed better immune function and more expression of anti-cancer proteins after forest bathing.   No matter whether you like setting your chair in the woods, meditating, or engaging in forest bathing, isn’t it time you spent some time outside, today?

References:

Haile, R. (2017). “Forest bathing”: how microdosingon nature can help with stress.  The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/06/forest-bathing/532068/

Jahren, H. (2017). Tasting the sweetness of summer, berry by berry.  The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/24/science/hope-jahren-berries-norway.html

Li Q., Morimoto , K., Nakadai, A., et al. (2007). Forest bathing enhances human natural killer activity and expression of anti-cancer proteins. Int. J. Immunopathol. Pharmacol. 2 Suppl 2: 3-8.https:// DOI:10.1177/03946320070200S202

White, M.P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J. et al. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Sci Rep 9, 7730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3

This blogpost was written for the benefit of students at Washtenaw Community College and the community as part of my sabbatical activities for winter 2020.  I am solely responsible for the content and hold the copyright for the work. Feel free to use the information in this blog; just credit me with a link back to my blog! -Emily Thompson, Ph.D.

Recipes For: Success as an Online Student and An Easy-To-Eat Study Snack!

So, you’re a student, and you’re learning online because of the COVID pandemic.  You might wonder, then, how to become a successful online student. I’ve got four steps to help you be more successful, plus a Bonus Easy-to-Eat Study Snack (the best kind)!

“A little scheduling saves a lot of fan cleaning” (modified from here)

Schedule. The first step is to write a schedule with your deadlines and when you’ll do your work for class.  The schedule needs to include time to prepare materials, watch the videos, review key points, and complete the evaluation.

“I buy books and sometimes I even read them”

Preview.  You’ve printed or downloaded the slides, you have your book or reading materials in front of you, now what?  Now, you use a highlighter and or pencil and spend 15-60 minutes going through the material.  The highlighter is for marking the 5-10 major themes and any vocab.  The pencil is for writing questions you hope are answered in the video.  For a class with homework due Sunday at 11:59 PM, I might do the preview on Thursday or Friday. I usually do the readings at the preview step and this may take some considerable time.

“Online learning means pajamas all day”

Watch.  It’s time to watch the videos and no one knows if you’re still in your pajamas!  For a class with homework due on Sunday at 11:59 PM, I might set aside time on Saturday for watching the videos (twice as many minutes as there are minutes of video)

            Use transcripts/closed captioning. You can open up transcripts/close captioning (if you have them) if the video is especially technical.  Then, if the instructor says something not on the notes that you don’t understand, you can read what on earth they are talking about! 

            Vary the speed. You can change the speed at which you listen to the video. If you have an easier class or a slower speaker, 1.25 X or 1.5 X might be a good speed.

            Understand. Watch and take notes.  Do stop and rewind to watch sections or whole videos if you don’t understand the material.  Sometimes you can even download the lectures as MP4s and listen to help you learn the material.

            This is also the time to do the readings, if you haven’t already.

“The more I practice, the luckier I get” (modified from J.J. Lerner)

Review. Although it’s tempting to skip this step, reviewing consolidates your learning.  You can re-read any reading summaries you’ve written and you can go over your lecture notes.

“Do your best, forget the rest” (Grant McGee)

Evaluation.  Now it’s time to take your evaluation, which might be an online quiz, lab, video, project, or essay.  You’ve prepared, you’ve watched the material, you’ve reviewed, so you’re going to do well. Good luck!

Whew!  That’s done! You’ve worked hard and it’s time for an: 

Easy-To-Eat Study Snack

Here’s a sensational recipe using items you might already have in your pantry.  The recipe is based on the one from here by Simmons (2020).

2 T peanut butter, unsweetened

2 T chocolate chips

2 T quick oats

2 T dried coconut

1 T honey

Measure out into a bowl and mix with a fork until well blended.  Roll into four balls.  Roll in extra coconut or chocolate chips, if you like. Skip the ingredients you don’t like.

This recipe makes four energy balls, which is enough for four people, as long as the other three are eating something else!

References

1) Original quote by lynshultes. Here's the reference:

Shultes, L. (2019). A little risk management saves a lot of fan cleaning. https://www.drupalgovcon.org/2018/program/sessions/little-risk-management-saves-lot-fan-cleaning

2) The first time the fourth quote appears in print is in an anecdote by J.J. Lerner, as reported by Walter Winchell in 1949.  Read more about it’s history here from Garson O'Toole in the Quote Tracker blog https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/14/luck/

Here's Garson's reference:

O'Toole, G. (n.d.). The harder I practice, the luckier I get. Quote Investigator.  https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/14/luck/

3) The fifth quote is attributed to Grant McGee, who wrote it in a poem “Out in the World,” in Houston’s Daily Post, published on January 15, 1915.  Thanks to Barry Popik for tracking it down and discussing it here. 

McGee, G. (1915, January 15). Out in the World. Daily Post (Houston).

4) The recipe is modified from the Chef Savvy blog, by Chef Kelly Simmons. Here's the reference:

Simmons, K. (2020). 5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Energy Bites. https://chefsavvy.com/5-ingredient-peanut-butter-energy-bites/

This blogpost was written for the benefit of students at Washtenaw Community College and the community as part of my sabbatical activities for winter 2020.  I am solely responsible for the content and hold the copyright for the work. Feel free to use the information in this blog; just credit me with a link back to my blog! -Emily Thompson, Ph.D.