Earth Day Canada inspires and supports people across Canada to connect with nature and build resilient communities.

Founded in 1990, Earth Day Canada is a national charity that inspires and supports people across the country to connect with nature and build resilient communities. We lead an annual Earth Day campaign in conjunction with free, year-round, award-winning programs that get people of all ages outside, interacting with the environment — this, in turn, fosters an intrinsically motivated, enduring commitment to stewardship and conservation.

We work closely with school-aged children and youth through our renowned EcoKids and EarthPLAY programs, focused on putting self-directed outdoor play back into the lives of children by addressing play provision in schools, parks, streets and community green spaces. We engage diverse communities and help our corporate partners achieve their sustainability goals with our employee engagement platform.

The history of Earth Day

A U.S. senator named Gaylord Nelson came up with the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. Hoping to mobilize the politically active student community, he chose April 22nd (falling between Spring Break and final exams) as the official date. On that day in 1970, more than 20-million Americans took to the streets — as well as campuses, parks, and other public spaces — to demonstrate in support of a healthy, sustainable environment. By the end of the year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency had been created and the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts had all passed.

Two decades later, in 1990, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Now, Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year.

From our partners at Earth Day Network

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