By Amy Anderson, Sunset editorial intern
It’s that time of the year where we dig in and plant new gardens, clean up creeks, and pick up trash. So what better way to celebrate Earth Day than going straight to the source of the idea?
Denis Hayes was a 24-year-old Harvard graduate student in 1969 when Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin chose him to be national coordinator for the first Earth Day. Twenty million people participated in that first day of activism in 1970.
“Earth Day went for breadth. We invited everybody: Labor leaders, civil rights leaders, corporate tycoons, politicians,” Hayes said. “And it was the first time it felt comfortable to get schools involved. Across the country, 25,000 schools participated. That gave us a leg up—everyone wants to be a hero to kids.”
Since then, Hayes has taken the helm at the Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation, giving grants to environmental initiatives and promoting sustainability in the Pacific Northwest. He continues to chair the board of the international Earth Day as well. But he says today’s progress can be credited to that initial push in the 1970s.
“None of this would have happened without a movement. There was a change in public attitudes,” Hayes said. “In the late 1960s, most people couldn’t explain what the word environment meant. But after Earth Day, there was a widespread perception that we have an inherent right to a healthy, safe, clean environment.”
Hayes returned to his alma mater, Stanford University, to speak about youth participation in environmentalism. I caught him before to find out his top tips for what we can do this Earth Day and beyond--read what he has to say after the jump.
You can also watch his April 14 speech at Stanford here. And find more ways to celebrate the day with Sunset's Real-world Earth Day ideas!
