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Earth Day Memories

As yet another Earth Day Celebration creeps upon us, employees of the department share some of their past experiences of Earth Day Celebrations.

Missouri's Earth Day History Parallels Department Director Doyle Childers' Development, read more. (April 15, 2008)

April 17, 2008

I have celebrated Earth Day for as long as I have had children in school (11 years). Last year I worked the Earth Day celebration in Jefferson City. This was especially important to me as my twin sons (both fifth graders) would be in attendance at the celebration.

I worked the Information Tent and registered all the schools. I saw all the attendees young and old with a smile on their face and with excitement in their hearts due to this experience. My sons would periodically run back to the Information Tent and tell me of the wonderful activities and new things they had learned. The oldest of my twins, Sam, had his recycling poster featured at this event. My sons, their classmates and their teachers made a point of telling me how great a day this way and how much it was appreciated.

I am volunteering for the event again this year and look forward to seeing more eager faces when they get off the buses and some arrive on foot. It is a very rewarding way to spend a few hours out of the day.

Karla D. Marshall
Department of Natural Resources
Air Pollution Control Program
Air Quality Analysis Section

April 18, 2008

My first Earth Day memory was planting trees with the Boy Scouts SOAR (Save Our American Resources) program at Camp Arrowhead in Marshfield, Missouri.  This was the year 1970.  The year that the youth of America first became aware that something was wrong with our environment.  This was also the year that the United Nations did a worldwide geophysical study predicting Global Warming and a possible disaster if the current industrial policies did not change.  It was a number of years later that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was formed. In the year 1986, I went to work for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, after living in Oregon for twenty years. 

After Missouri celebrated its first earth day at the Capitol, the location was changed the next year to another site. It was later changed back to the capitol.  On this earth day, I rode my bicycle two blocks down the side of Highway 54 and collected the trash thrown along the road into two large plastic trash bags.  I proceeded downtown to the capitol steps and set up a display showing that at least half the trash was made up of recyclable aluminum cans.  The capitol steps were pretty deserted; but I stayed there for a couple of  hours., talking to the people who wandered by, wondering what I was doing there.  Later on, I helped staff earth day, to teach the kids that healing the environment begins with awareness and knowledge of the problem. Why do we still have recyclables thrown along the road in the state capitol of Missouri?

Earth day is an excellent way to keep educating kids to the responsibility we have as citizens.  However, it is the responsibility for adult citizens to look around their own communities, and solve some of these problems we are teaching to our children.

Gerald Howard
Research Analyst - APCP

April 17, 2008

When I worked for the DGLS I participated in Earth Day by helping with the Bean Bag Toss. The Bean Bag Toss is quite popular with the children because they win cards with each successful toss. I was encouraging a group of young people who had on green tee shirts. These children smiled often but there wasn't much noise from the group. I loudly cheered, encouraged, jumped for joy and clapped with each new child's potential success one green tee after another. It was only after the group of green tees left that my co-worker said, "You do know they were deaf, didn't you?" No, I hadn't realized they were deaf and I'm not sure I would have acted differently had I known. I've been privileged to participate in Earth Day several times. I've always enjoyed the children and what ever activity I was involved with whether face painting, bean bag tossing, making little binder books, or handing out water. Earth Day is well worth the time and effort to see the children learn and enjoy the day.

Loetta K. Ireland
Public Drinking Water Branch
Water Protection Program

April 17, 2008

"I'm pretty sure I can remember the day the earth was made. I definitely remember the period of cooling and crustal formation. Does that count?" (John began his career with the department in May 1976 as a water quality specialist.)

John Ford
Environmental Specialist

April 18, 2008

"It was during my impressionable years when Earth Day first started, i.e. I was in high school. I remember one activity and one activity alone for the first Earth Day and that was getting a one page handout with a list of ways to save the earth. I turned that in with an assignment in physics class and never got it back, always wishing I’d had that list to refer to from time to time. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was growing up with thrifty and frugal parents of German heritage, being drug along to the salvage yard to recycle scrap metal, and going along on trips to sell used cardboard. All of this was way before 1970, when recycling wasn’t cool.

I imagine that list would be quite redundant today. It was a list of small things that one can do, one we’ve all seen countless times. I am glad that recycling and living a conservative life is part of my heritage. I only wish that there’d be a little bit more meat to what is recommended for people to do because at this point in time it’s going to take much more aggressive and drastic action on our parts to truly Save the World."

Diane Reinhardt
Environmental Engineer
Water Protection Program

April 24, 2008

I recall the first Earth Day as a young girl, the tender age of 11. Our English teacher asked everyone to write something about protecting the environment and about the need to be good stewards of our natural resources. However, I am not certain that the term "steward" was used, but he helped us understand that we all needed to do a better job caring for the Earth and that each of us, no matter what age, could help.

My approach to the assignment was to write a newspaper article about protecting the environment . . . the environment of Mars! <grin> The article appeared in The Daily Berserk in the year 2525 (figure the 1969 Zager & Evans record was being played frequently by my brother Van). The reporter was you guessed it, a Martian. His name was Orney Ruhler. Ruhler surveyed the Earth from his ship and reported that the planet Earth was in very sad shape. Smoke was everywhere. Trash was heaped. The once lush, bountiful, clean planet was just limping along. He lamented that Earthlings just didn't seem to care. Ruhler cautioned his fellow Martians to take good care of Mars because he did not want his precious planet to end up like Earth. ....I have more...ha...

Beginning with the first Earth Day celebration, I was very encouraged and have found many ways to participate through the years. I consider myself fortunate to have participated in the department's Earth Day celebration for seven years. Six of those years with Rolla USGS. Last year was my first year with the department and I truly enjoyed helping Geology and Land Survey staff members with our bean bag toss game. Visitors to our booth are given bean bags to toss, with the expectation of winning trading cards about the Missouri's outstanding natural resources. It is quite popular, fun and educational. I believe I enjoyed the game as much as the kids. Everyone is a winner, so if you are in the vicinity of the Capitol Friday, April 25, be sure to stop by. There are numerous displays and booths about the environment and the stage entertainment and games are fantastic!

Hylan Beydler
Division Information Officer
Geology and Land Survey