The ROCK rocked Earth Day!

The above pictured nature mandala made by Leah Mann and Ela and Kairos Lamblin (from scotch broom they pulled on their property) was our first Hour for the Earth share. What a beautiful way to kick off a sweet day of caring for nature in so many ways! We had 57 participants who registered their time with us and together they worked 102 hours!! Yay Vashon! Here are some of the things all these earth elves worked on:

• Cleared blackberries and bindweed
•  beach cleanup
• Cleared Geranium robertianum from Judd Creek loop trail
• organized recycled gowns for graduating seniors
• picked up plastic and other trash from beaches along Quartermaster harbor
• picked up trash from KVI beach, planted pollinator friendly plants
• pulled invasive plants from my property
• Kieran (1.5 yrs) helped plant native seeds we got from VNC and then he went to find worms to relocate to the area, a favorite activity!
• Beach cleanup KVI and biodiversity survey
• Pulled invasive plants, began bird survey, picked up trash with my gloves on!
• Picked up trash from our road
• Planted a new garden
• Removed noxious weeds from my property
• Pulled shiny geranium
• Planted a tree
• Planted flower starts for bees and butterflies
• dug out ivy and removed it from trees and removed blackberries from streamside plantings
• I dug out tansy ragwort in our chicken yard and planted hundreds of seeds for pollinators this week!
• Learned the plants in my yard with the iNaturalist Seek app

102 hours in 1 day!

In addition, $500 was raised to put towards Vashon Nature Center programs and, thanks to Vashon Adventures, Tre Michaud walked away with an 8-person kayak trip in his future!

What a lovely Earth day. It felt very special for me, even though my work is nature-based, to set aside time with my family and simply focus on giving to the earth in solidarity with friends and neighbors who were doing that very same thing at the same time.

In some sense, Hour for the Earth acted as a snapshot to reveal what many people do in different amounts all year round, unseen, and unasked. Everyday there are people out there in our community caring for the beautiful island we call home silently and with joy. Perhaps they stoop down and pick up an errant piece of litter on their daily walk, pull a scotch broom seedling from their friend’s pasture as they walk by, notice the first swallow to arrive and silently welcome it, volunteer with the Land Trust, VNC, or Audubon, go to work changing policy on climate change or other environmental laws, or inspire their grandchild’s interest in nature. When we care for our home, we care for each other.

What we so desperately need as a larger culture is to grow the ethos that underpins these actions of care and to grow a culture that supports and encourages us to pause and ask how we can best support thriving natural systems through our actions at all levels of society. All of you that automatically incorporate these small acts of care into your daily lives are living examples of how to live in connection, cultivating a close and caring relationship with the world.  THANK YOU!!

Did you miss the cut-off for reporting? Leave us a note in the comments about what you did on Earth day so we can continue the good feels!