For Family Day To-Go this month we are celebrating Earth Day. We’ll look at environmental art by Patricia Leighton and practice our gardening skills.
The first Earth Day was in 1970. Today it is a global event that happens every year on April 22. Over 1 billion people and more than 193 countries participate.
This year Earth Day is focused on restoring our Earth. It is important to restore our Earth because we care about it and because we live on it. We all need a healthy Earth to live.
One major threat to our Earth is climate change. Human activity is causing the planet to warm. This temperature increase affects our food supply, the economy, sea levels and many other things. It produces extreme weather, like bigger hurricanes and sometimes even blizzards. Go to earthday.org to learn more about Earth Day and what you can do to help.
Patricia Leighton and Environmental Art
Patricia Leighton is an environmental artist. She creates outdoor sculptures that relate to their location and the natural world. Leighton uses the natural materials of the area near a sculpture, like soil, stones and plants. Her sculptures help us connect to nature.
In 2014, Leighton designed an installation called “Terra Verte” (meaning “green earth”) for the sculpture garden at the museum. It included six large metal cubes filled with dirt and covered in plants. Take a closer look at the sculptures. What do you notice? How do you think these sculptures change with the weather?
Leighton made a drawing of what the exhibition would look like before she made the sculptures. Compare her drawing to the finished art. Can you find the two cubes pictured in her drawing? Visit the museum to see one cube that stayed.
There are many ways to celebrate Earth Day this year.
Check out some events happening in Athens
- Earth Day Celebration: Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 at Memorial Park with a story, craft and outdoor activity to bring everyone closer to our Mother Earth! For ages 0 – 6. Call 706-613-3800 for more information on cost and how to register.
- UGA’s Earth Day 2021 Art Challenge: Create a work of art that inspires people to make a more unified, equitable, prosperous and compassionate community. Submission deadline is April 15. To learn more visit sustainability.uga.edu.
- Virtual Run Earth Day (Month) 24,904 Mile Challenge: The goal is simple. People all over the US, including Athens, are seeing how many times they can run the distance of the circumference of the earth together during the month of April. Search: “2021 Earth Day Challenge Run/Walk – Athens” and register through the eventbrite website.
Make the earth greener
One way we can help the environment is to plant more trees. Plants and trees are the backbone of a healthy planet and support every living thing. They give us food, medicine and shelter. They clean water and air of pollutants. Plants and trees even help make the oxygen we breathe. To learn more about trees check out the Arbor Day Foundation at arborday.org
Sunflower Garden
All plants start as seeds. Seeds are alive, but they can stay dormant (or sleep) for years. Some seeds have even sprouted after being dormant for 3,000 years. When the seeds are in the right conditions, they wake up and grow. Seeds need plenty of water, warm temperatures and sunlight to grow. Now it’s your turn to plant seeds.
You will need the following supplies included in the art kit or found at home.
- Newspaper or kraft paper
- Recycled water bottle
- Permanent markers
- Dirt
- Sunflower seeds
- Water
Directions:
- Lay out newspaper or kraft paper on your work surface for easy clean-up.
- Decorate the bottle using markers. The bottle is going to be your flower pot.
- Place a couple of rocks in the bottom to help with drainage.
- Fill the pot with dirt.
- Poke three holes in the dirt, about 1 inch deep. Drop one seed into each hole and cover with dirt.
- Water your seeds and keep them in a warm sunny spot. They will sprout in about a week or two.
TIP: Plant leftover seeds in a sunny spot in your yard. Bury seeds 1 to 2 inches under the dirt and keep the soil moist until they sprout.
View downloadable PDF of this activity