Yourdonation will make a world of difference!

Fifty years ago, in 1969, environmental concerns: smog, pollution, pesticides, and oils spills had grown to such a level that the public began to look for ways to bring more attention to the problems.

In San Francisco, peace activist, John McConnell with strong support of City Officials issued an Earth Day Proclamation on March 1, 1970 and 'Honor the Earth', the very first Earth Day celebration, took place on March 21, 1970.

A month later, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson’s plan for citizens to host teach-ins nationwide to raise awareness of environmental problems took place on April 22, 1970. An estimated 20 million Americans, young and old, gathered across the nation to confront the ecological troubles in their cities, states, nation, and planet—and to demand action from themselves and from their elected officials.

This watershed moment kicked off the "Environmental Decade" of radical legislative reforms. It produced important environmental protection legislation: the Clean Water Acts, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Federal Pesticides Act, the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Education Act, the National Hiking Trails and the National Scenic Trails Acts, and the establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

In 1990, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141countries. It lifted environmental issues onto the world stage and gave a huge boost to recycling effortsworldwide. In San Luis Obispo County an inspired grassroots community formedthe Earth Day Coalition. They joined with city and county agencies tocoordinate an Earth Day Fair at Cuesta Collegefeaturing singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, guest speakers andpresentations on pollution solutions, recycling and more.

For the next threedecades, the Earth Day Coalition (1990 -1999) and the Earth DayAlliance (2000 - 2020) organized an annual EarthDay Fair for residents and visitors to SLO County. With the intent to educate, motivateand empower the public to take action to protect and preserve theenvironment for future generations eachfair brought the most pressing environment related issues to theforefront. While many people are reducing theirfootprint education and action must continue.

The 30th annual San Luis Obispo County Earth DayFair & Music Festival will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2020 atLaguna Lake Park. Mark the date! Bring your friends and family. Signup to be a sponsor, volunteer or join the planning committee by writingto earthdayslo@gmail.com.

Our biggest challenge for 2020 is to reachour fundraising goal of $12,000. Your generous donation of any amount will make ahuge difference and is greatly appreciated. The resultsand the impact of your donation will be on display at the Earth DayAlliance website in Mayof 2020,