This week, our nation celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. It may seem surprising, but in April 1970, there was no Clean Air Act, no Clean Water Act, nor any legal or regulatory mechanisms to protect our environment. In spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to force this issue onto the national agenda. Twenty million Americans demonstrated in different U.S. cities, and it worked! In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
April 2021 also marks the 25th Anniversary of National Poetry Month, launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. National Poetry Month reminds the public that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.
Springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata) 
Yellow bells (Fritillaria pudica)
Wenatchee Valley College invites our community to join in free public events that co-celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month.
April 22nd (Earth Day!), 1 PM, free and open to the public, register now
These two visiting writers are wise and engaging ambassadors of sustainability. Scott Sanders’ essays so beautifully place people and social justice at the heart of sustainability. Ross Gay is something of a superstar right now. His genius lies in bringing people together through poems that celebrate joy and delight even as he leads efforts at community gardening. Listen to Krista Tippett’s interview with him.
April 26th, 2021, 6 PM, free and open to the public, register now for Terrain.org Earth Day/Poetry Month Celebration
WVC professor and published poet, Derek Sheffield, will give a reading and talk with J. Drew Lanham and Jane Hirshfield. Drew Lanham is a wildlife biologist, ornithologist, professor, and author. Jane Hirshfield has been working with world leaders for many years to make sure poetry and science work together to meet the challenge of the climate crisis. It’s no accident that she’s paired along with another living legend, Jane Goodall, in this episode of Science Friday.
Shooting Star (Dodecatheon pulchellum) 
long-flowered bluebells (Mertensia longiflora)
Earth Day and National Poetry Month both share an important theme embedded in the Wenatchee Naturalist program. The course embraces the collaboration of science and art to help us all become become better observers in community on life-long journeys of learning. Upon course completion, everyone is invited to volunteer for conservation. Check out the most recent eNews to find new ideas and ways to engage in our community. Let’s use April’s celebrations to renew our own commitment to striving to create a better future for people and our Earth.
Steer’s Head (Dicentra uniflora) 
Northern Alligator Lizard
Wenatchee Naturalist Volunteer Pledge
As a Wenatchee Naturalist graduate, I pledge to help foster awareness, understanding, and stewardship of the Wenatchee River region in my community. As a volunteer, I promise to uphold and honor the values presented above in the Wenatchee Naturalist Code of Ethics.
Types of Volunteer Service
Each person can choose the type of service that best fits their interests, abilities, and time constraints. During the course, students will be introduced to regional conservation organizations that welcome volunteers. There are three basic areas of service:
Stewardship Projects— Natural resource management activities, such as invasive species removal or restoration projects, as a volunteer for a local conservation non-profit or agency.
Education/Interpretive Projects—Volunteer teachers for local outdoor or museum education projects for school children, preparing educational materials, or leading hikes.
Community Science Projects— Volunteers gathering data and returning it via the internet to support research projects. Options include national or locally run projects which will all be introduced during the course.