Tuesday, April 03, 2007

The Earth Day Groceries Project


It is now April, and my life changes in an annual cycle that is quite remarkable. Since 1994, I've been coordinating The Earth Day Groceries Project on the internet. I spend dozens, some years hundreds, of hours in a two month period working on this. Every year.



That's the work.


Here's the joy.


It is a true blessing to be in the position of receiving so much good news. Good news sent in from around the world. Sent in with the hope that stories and pictures will be there for their kids to see, for a grocery store to see, for a community to see, and for the world to see. Forever. To document the fact that they tried to make a difference, tried to reverse decades and centuries of abuse to our planet.


I am lucky, lucky, lucky. It is a huge responsibility, and I do not take it lightly.
Happy Earth Day!
April 22, every year.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mark, on behalf of all the teachers who have enrolled their students in this project over the years, a very big thanks! When I read your post this morning I took a trip down memory lane and went to the project site and looked for my students. There we were in the archived pictures, Cameron St. P.S. from Collingwood, Ontario, Canada (1997). I remember how eagerly the students went to our local Loblaws to talk to the manager about the project. The store does not use paper bags and were unable to commit to even a trial period of using them. My students came up with the idea of taking the paper from the class recycling bins, putting their Earth Day messages on that and then inserting them into hundreds of Loblaws plastic bags. I have long since moved on from that school, but the classroom teacher, Mrs. Hall, is still there and has over the past decade taken the school to the highest environmental designation given by the Canadian Seeds Foundation - Earth School. That school cultural change started with the Earth Day Project. Thanks again!

Diane Hammond
YES I Can! Science
McMaster University