Paris Valley

My early memories of Earth Day were as a child, when I thought it was awesome that people paused in their daily life to celebrate Mother Earth, who in my mind was dressed in a green gown and flew around checking to make sure people didn’t litter or start forest fires. Later, in college as a Natural Resources major, I recall spending Earth Day volunteering at elementary schools and helping to educate children about our natural world and why it’s so important to cherish the world around us.

This Earth Day, as I drove down the mountain, our Crooked Run Valley just seemed to reflect the essence of earth day with the vivid greens of spring, the rich, wet earth from recent rains, and the farmers preparing their fields. Our Earth has changed dramatically since the first Earth Day in 1970, but I’ve grown to appreciate how the work of so many has allowed us to enjoy views such as this each day, and I thank them.