Have you ever thought about how unique our planet is? About what kind of gift is in the hands of humanity? About how great and powerful it is, with its endless mountain ranges, huge canyons, noisy waterfalls, and endless oceans? And how fragile and defenseless is she at the same time in the face of a person?
Did you know that our planet has its own holiday – Earth Day? And not one, it has two holidays.. These two officially recognized holidays are dedicated to our planet and its protection from human influence. The date of the vernal equinox, March 20, when Earth Day is celebrated, was chosen at the initiative of the United Nations and officially approved in 1971. The second date, April 22 is International Mother Earth Day and it was established by the UN General Assembly in 2009 by Resolution No. A / RES/63 / 278. The first holiday has a humanistic orientation, the second is an ecological one. These holidays are not familiar to everyone, but every year they become more and more ambitious, declaring themselves and forcing people to act for the good of the planet.
Let’s talk about International Earth day.. What kind of holiday is this in general and what is it connected with? The holiday has its own symbol. It is a flag that depicts the planet Earth in space. In fact, the flag shows a photo of our planet. This photo is one of the most famous in the world. It was taken in 1972 by the astronauts of the Apollo 17 mission on the way to the moon. And in addition to the flag, the holiday has one more symbol – the green Greek letter Θ, θ (Theta) on a white background. It is somewhat similar to our planet with the equator. And another interesting attribute of Earth Day is the Peace Bell. In different countries of the world there is a tradition to ring the bell, thus calling the inhabitants of the planet to solidarity, peace and preservation of the beauty of the Earth. The first Bell was made in the middle of the last century in New York from coins collected by children from all continents. Similar bells are installed in Germany, Australia, Canada and other countries.
The purpose of the holiday is to unite humanity in front of the problem of environmental pollution, waste of irreplaceable resources of the planet and protect it from harm caused by the hand of man. From year to year, various campaigns, forums dedicated to ecology, conferences, thematic exhibitions and charity auctions are held around the world these days, the money from which is transferred to organizations engaged in nature protection.
Today, more than 170 countries of the world have recognized Earth Day as their official holiday and celebrate it annually, holding various actions on this day designed to remind people of the need to protect our planet.
Events dedicated to this holiday are also held in various educational institutions – universities, colleges and schools. Our school is no exception. Last year, pupils of our school participated in an action to clean up the nearby territory from garbage, this year IZB pupils participated in landscaping the territory. The children were happy to plant seedlings of flowers and trees, carefully giving life to new sprouts, a new living organism. Several flower beds were laid out, several dozen flower seedlings were planted in portable flower bed and, saplings of young trees were planted. Yerkinoy Kuchkarovna, a biology teacher, helped our pupils.. Along the way, she explained to the children many points in planting and caring for plants, reminding them of botany and biology lessons. Each of the children with one planted sprout was able to contribute to the protection of nature, was able to give life to a small “drop in the sea”, which is called NATURE.
Such holidays and related events unite the pupils and, the people as a whole, for a common goal to save our planet. And we must always remember, and not once a year, what responsibility lies on all mankind. It is the preservation of a unique planet, which has no analogues in space today.
