Earth Week has come back again, and even though it was virtual, that did not stop Earth Week events from taking place. Here is what happened at UMass Boston and elsewhere this Earth Week.

UMass Boston is no stranger to Earth Week, and multiple events were held virtually to celebrate. The following events took place: 

• April 17-25: The Outdoor Enthusiasts Club held a remote Earth Week Clean-Up. Participants were asked to take photos of the bags of trash they picked up. For each bag of trash that they picked up, a raffle ticket would be entered. The prize was a $50 gift card to local Boston shop Uvida. (Uvida is Boston’s first zero-waste shop, founded by UMB Graduate Maria Vasco). 

• April 19: A screening of the film “Entangled”, “An award-winning, feature-length film about how climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both.” The film screening was moderated by Living on Earth reporter, Bobby Bascomb. 

• April 21: A UMass Boston Environmental Business Council Environmental Career Panel was held, where different representatives from environmental professions talked about their work and career. 

• April 22: The UMass Boston School for the Environment’s Earth Day 2021 Symposium: Ninth Annual Research Colloquium was held. Various students and faculty presented research, education or community activities related to environmental science, climate change, Earth Day or sustainability. 

• April 23: The Student Arts and Events Council put on an Earth Day Gameshow. “The Earth Week Game Show is a word guessing game similar to ‘Wheel of Fortune’ with an Earth Day theme,” according to UMBeInvolved. 

The Student Arts and Events Council also held a signup for a make-your-own air plant terrarium kit on Friday, April 23. 

On a larger scale than UMass Boston, EARTHDAY.org held three days of virtual events. EARTHDAY.org works to “diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide.” 

On April 20, the first of the three events was a global youth climate summit led by Earth Uprising. It consisted of various panels, speeches, and discussions with different youth climate activists, like Greta Thunberg. 

The second of the events was held on April 21 which was an education summit that emphasized the work of educators in the fight for combating climate change. 

EARTHDAY.org’s last event was held on Earth Day, April 22, which was a virtual event with different panels and discussions. The event covered topics like “climate and environmental literacy,” “climate restoration technologies,” “reforestation efforts,” “regenerative agriculture,” “equity and environmental justice,” “citizen science,” and “cleanups, and more,” according to EARTHDAY.org. 

The events put on by EARTHDAY.org were held all over the globe, and ranged  in different types of events from general Earth Day events to activism to presentations and film screenings. 

Earth Day began back in 1970 in the U.S., and has since turned into an international day that brings people together to highlight the environment and the need to save the planet from the effects of climate change. 

Kathleen Rogers, the president of EARTHDAY.org, told Vogue, “This Earth Day, we have an important opportunity to challenge our leaders to commit to climate action on a global scale. We are at the edge of a cliff—if we don’t act now to reduce carbon emissions, there will be no way back.” 

On April 22 and 23, President Joe Biden held a virtual summit where he invited 40 world leaders to take part. The event was held in order to highlight the need for stronger climate action. 

If you missed out on Earth Day events or want to make every day Earth Day, these are some helpful tips (according to Vogue) on how to live more sustainably:

“Being more conscious about what you buy, switching to renewable energy, flying less and eating less meat, fish and dairy. You can also join a local campaign group, write to your politicians and donate to environmental charities.”