World Earth Day 2023, events scheduled in Padua and province
22 April is Earth Day, a worldwide event celebrating the planet and emphasising the importance of safeguarding its resources and well-being.
This event, which involves more than 190 countries each year, can be traced back to the United States of the 1960s and the delicate eco-social situation the nation was experiencing at the time. It was a turbulent context, in which dissenting public opinion and protests over the Vietnam War were joined by growing ecological problems and catastrophes loudly lamented by the community, not least the explosion in January 1969 of an oil well off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.
The time was ripe to take a decisive ecological stance: the first major Earth rally was held on 22 April 1970, an event promoted in particular by Gaylord Nelson, Democratic Senator from Wisconsin and charismatic spokesman for further future battles for environmental protection. The event engaged and converged the voices of both activist groups and ordinary citizens, leading some 20 million people to peacefully demonstrate with symbolic actions and gestures underscoring the value and relevance of the theme. 53 years after the first event, Earth Day is still an opportunity for meetings and discussions celebrating the wonder of our planet. Above all, it is a common, open and peaceful occasion to discuss what has been done so far in the field of environmental awareness, and to assess the main ecological, economic and social challenges we are called to face today more than ever before, in the uncertainty of everyday life weighed down by the climate crisis and its immediate consequences.
This year too Padua is hosting several interesting events on this day.
Appointment with music at the Botanical Garden of Padua: on Saturday, 22 April at 5.30 pm musician and populariser Rocco Papia together with percussionist Marco Zanotti will hold an intriguing musical performance using the work tools of gardeners at the botanical garden to inaugurate Sonus Horti, an interactive installation of sound sculptures that will make the ecosystems of the Botanical Garden vibrate with sound effects generated by water. For info and registrations, follow this link.
On Saturday, 22 and Sunday, 23 April, the Plastic Free Odv Onlus Association invites everyone to participate in an intensive environmental clean-up involving the province of Padua and the city centre with no less than nine events. Participants are requested to bring gardening gloves, waste collection tongs, water bottle and comfortable closed shoes. For info and registrations, follow this link.