Alexander Jewish Family Service Friends,

On this day, April 22, 1970 Earth Day was celebrated for the first time in the US. Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylor Nelson of Wisconsin who wanted to make concern over the environment an ongoing part of the national political agenda.

Henry David Thoreau spoke of the healing power of time spent in nature:

“We need the tonic of wildness—to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground.”

Lady Bird Johnson during her tenure as First Lady of the United States (1963-1969) was a champion of conservation efforts, advocated for the creation of National Park Service units, lobbied for the passage of environmental legislation, and campaigned for the improvement of the character of the nation’s highway system. In 1982, along with actress Helen Hayes, she founded the Wildflower Research Center in Austin to protect and preserve North America’s plants and landscapes. Lady Bird Johnson said of nature:

“The environment is where we all meet; where all have a mutual interest; it is the one thing all of us share.”

As we celebrate earth day this year I hope that  you are able to find some time to get out and enjoy some time in nature.

What are some of your favorite places in nature? Are you more drawn to mountains, water, wooded areas?

Would enjoy hearing from you about your favorite places and what about them inspires you.

Take care,

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Carl E. Josehart, MSW (he/him/his)

Chief Operating Officer

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