On April 22nd Gaia and our global network of allies will celebrate an extra-special 50th Anniversary Earth Day.
Though every day, in every way, is an Earth Day, we’ll be taking this opportunity to show special gratitude for our living planet and for the frontline indigenous and local communities who defend Mother Nature.
Below we share 5 ways in which you can connect with Nature’s beauty and her best custodians on Earth Day, even if you’re in lockdown.
We’ll also be doing some collective soul searching on Earth Day, asking what are we, as Gaia, doing to nurture life at this time of crisis?
Wherever you are, we invite you to join us in asking and answering this question.
Share your contributions- from planting seeds to defending sacred lands- with us via social media. Simply use the hashtag #NurtureLife and we’ll re-share your contributions, making them visible to our global network of thousands.
Watch… Custodians of Life: Reviving Culture and Nature in Uganda’s Great Lakes
Alon Kiiza, Bagungu elder. Photo: Ben Gray for The Gaia Foundation.
What: Africa’s growing Earth Jurisprudence movement and The Gaia Foundation bring you a story of hope and decolonisation in a time of crises. This brand new short film (15 minutes) features the inspiring story of the Indigenous Bagungu People of western Uganda, who are reviving culture and Nature in one of Africa’s most biodiverse ecosystems after centuries of repression.
When: Anytime. The film is available online to view or download now.
How: Watch Custodians of Life here.
Tune in to … the Standing on Sacred Ground online film festival
Graphic: Sacred Land Film Project
What: The Sacred Land Film Project has launched a free online film festival, featuring four hour-long films that explore how indigenous communities from Australia to the Andes are defending their sacred territories. The festival includes weekly online interactive discussions with indigenous leaders featured in the films.
When: Now until May 17th
How: Learn how to tune in to the festival here, or sign up to the Facebook event here.
Sacred land Film Project have also launched two hour-long films with Hopi elder Thomas Banyacya (1909-1999). The films explore Thomas’s prophecies about the dangers of abusing Nature, and his vision of how we can live in harmony with the more-than-human world. Watch the films here.
Visit…Territories of Life sustained by Indigenous communities
Restored trout spawning area along the Jukajoki River. Photo: Snowchange Cooperative.
What: Around our living planet and since time immemorial, indigenous and local communities have cared for their territories and the more-than-human beings they share them with. They are Earth’s first and best custodians and defenders, and yet they face daily, deadly threats to their homes, cultures and livelihoods. Find out more with the Indigenous and Community Conserved Area (ICCA) Consortium…
When: Anytime.
How: Visit the ICCA Consortium website here.
Sign….The global petition for a UN Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth
What: Be a voice for Nature- join more than a quarter of a million people in calling on the UN to formally adopt a Universal Declaration on the RIghts of Mother Earth!
When: Now- there’s no time to lose.
How: Sign the global petition and join the campaign aiming to mobilise more than 1 million planetary citizens by 2022.
Join… The 50th Anniversary Earth Day Summit
What: To mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, join an online gathering with great thinkers of our time to look at how we might come out of this pandemic ready to regenerate our planet and social institutions.
When: Earth Day • April 22, 2020 • 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. PT
How: Register for the Earth Summit here.
Support our work on Earth Day
Please consider supporting our work to uphold and restore the health of our living planet on Earth Day and every day- make a donation to Gaia.
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