Today marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. It’s worth acknowledging all the positive changes that have been enacted over the last 50 years – the enacting the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, endangered species like the bald eagle have rebounded from the brink of extinction, rivers are no longer on fire and don’t run the color of whatever the upstream dye factory happens to be producing on a given day, and renewable energy options are becoming more mainstream. But despite these victories, 2020 comes with challenges that weren’t even on the radar in 1970, with climate change and a staggering global loss of biodiversity at the top of that list. I mention this not to dishearten anyone, but rather to urge you to take action wherever you can: consider ways to minimize your own carbon footprint and encourage those around you to do the same. Shop local. Walk, bike or talk public transportation instead of driving when possible. Reduce your dependence on single-use plastics and unnecessary packaging. And perhaps the most important, get to know (and ultimately love) the world around you better. 

“In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”

Baba Dioum

While life has been extremely disrupted over the past month or two, and many jobs, activities, and classes are canceled due to social distancing and stay-at-home orders, nature is certainly not canceled, and taking a walk outside can be a great way to relax and reconnect with the natural world after being largely cooped up in the house.

While a cursory glance at the still-bare oak trees outside may have you thinking spring is weeks away, a closer inspection will yield abundant signs of spring. Last night the Upper Cape Naturalists Club held a virtual meeting during which our members shared information about their favorite signs of spring. Topics ranged from the dramatic mating flights of American woodcock to early blooming skunk cabbage flowers to wood frogs, spotted salamanders and other organisms that rely on vernal pools to breed. 

Some of the spring “happenings” that I’ve been noticing on my recent local walks in Bourne and Falmouth include:

• Sheep laurel flower buds starting to develop and showing just a hint of pink.
• The first still-mostly-rolled Canada mayflower leaves are starting to emerge.
• Ground-hugging bunches of trailing arbutus (the state flower of Massachusetts) are flowering. 
• The red fuzzy female flowers and the longer male catkins can be seen on sweet fern branches. 

What signs of spring have you been noticing? How did you celebrate earth day?