Turning 50 is a milestone—whether a birthday, a wedding anniversary or an event—and a golden opportunity to celebrate. Wednesday, April 22 marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, and the 2020 theme is Climate Action. “Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable,” write the organizers of Earth Day (www.earthday.org/earth-day-50th-anniversary).

This year, for the first time in its history, Earth Day will go digital due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. There will also be an expanded celebration, as Earth Week and Earth Month activities multiply. Everyone is encouraged to take action at home, advocate for the planet and its people, and to practice citizen science.

Ideas for each can be explored at the Earth Day website link above, and digital events can be registered there as well. Toolkits, such as the “Plastic Pollution Primer and Action Toolkit,” and Earth Day Tips are also available on the site.

For additional Earth Day resources and activities, visit www.nisenet.org/earth50 or www.bit.ly/earthdaytools. And while most facilities and events are closed or canceled in our national parks, the National Park Service has shifted to a digital focus as well, which includes the nine-day celebration of National Park Week from Saturday, April 18 to Sunday, April 26. Learn more at www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/april-monthly-theme.htm.

 “It must be a historic moment when citizens of the world rise up in a united call for the creativity, innovation, ambition and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future,” emphasize the Earth Day organizers in anticipation of this golden opportunity. Tap some of the resources in this column to set plans now in preparation for your Earth Day actions targeting climate change.