Or how I appreciate Earth Day without the Oompa Loompas and fanfare.
April 22, 2020 is Earth Day, which is normally one of my favorite days to volunteer. I am posting this article on Earth Day in my country, but I know that due to time zone differences, some of you will not see it until afterwards.
With everything that is going on in the world, experiencing nature is more challenging than ever. While I had discussed in my post on Seeking Nature, how I normally favor nature walks, exploring a balance of nature within the urban landscape, and capitalizing on isolated moments of beauty which is a lot harder to do currently. In honor of Earth, I wanted to explore how I experience the Earth to differentiate it from seeking nature and alternative solutions to celebrate it in this topsy-turvy situation.
There is a pretty popular belief that experiencing the nature is to experience the Earth. The Earth operates within this train of thought as a single unit – that to experience and explore one is mutually inclusive to the other. Others believe that the earth is more of an entity, existing exclusive from us and Nature operates as a mere expression of that. Yet others count it either of the Gods or under their domain depending on religious context. The final group is probably wondering why I chose this topic to do a deep dive free-thought experiment. For me, the concept of earth has always been a part of all of these, a deeper collective. To experience the Earth is to experience the culture of its people, nature, and the topography.
Earth Day was proposed by John McConnell and enacted in 1970. Overall, the core idea was to dedicate the day to environmental activism, a concept I feel has become more and more important as the years go by. While some critics argue that a single day fails to account for much change, I would counter that a single day can make the difference for a lot of people. It can produce the spark that causes lifelong passions or introduce new ideas and concepts-consider this personal testimony.
Now, how does relate to architecture? Why care?
Architecture and Landscape Architecture should be informed by the Earth. Whether that is taking inspiration directly from biological forms and functions, inspiration from the topography, or the cultures around it. The history of both disciplines is riddled with a hodgepodge of explorations into the Earth motivated from the study of the soil itself and the many mysterious creatures on it. In addition, individuals should have an understanding how even concepts like urban planning and design can have huge impacts beyond the site scale.
Finally, how do we celebrate, especially when many of us are still stuck indoors?
Well first, I would encourage you to spend some time researching the laws, making yourself aware of the group and issues. Learn about how natural resources are being used in your country or what green technology is available. As someone whose studio project is focused on bridging the gap between Landscape and Architecture through redesigned green technology, please reach out if you are not sure where to start. Some people like to devote extra time and care to personal plants and gardens, while others choose to learn how to set up compost and recycling bins. Do a water challenge-conserve water, avoid doing extra laundry or washing your car. However, this earth day, I want to personally challenge everyone to spend some time learning about a new area, study a new culture, learn why silkworms are important or discover which species of shark migrates the farthest. Let us spend this indoor bound earth day focused on the education.