On 22 April, SAEON and 54 learners from grades 9 to 11 from the schools adopted by the SAEON nodes celebrated Earth Day 2021 (www.earthday.org) virtually. The purpose of Earth Day celebrations is to raise awareness about the issues affecting our planet and how to protect our ecosystems.

The theme for 2021, “Restore our Earth”, was used as a basis for the talks and activities that promoted ways the learners can embrace to protect and restore our Earth, as well as informed choices so that their daily actions lead to a healthy planet.

The two guest speakers were Asemahle Mthunzi from the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) and Kirtanya Lutchminarayan from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who highlighted the vital role played by SASSI, the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative, in protecting our marine ecosystems.

Asemahle’s thought-provoking presentation described various ways in which our earth can be restored. Kirtanya drew the learners’ attention to plastic pollution and its impact on marine life. Her presentation illustrated that by making more informed choices in our daily actions, we can collectively contribute to a healthy planet.

SAEON Kids iNaturalist competition

The science engagement team used this celebration to launch the SAEON Kids iNaturalist competition, where learners upload pictures of different species to showcase biodiversity and stand a chance to win prizes. This competition encourages learners to be aware of the different species around them.

The comments below describe some of the learners’ thoughts on the Virtual Earth Day Programme:

• I found the presentation about SASSI and its seafood awareness campaigns very interesting.
• The programme gave information on climate change and how plastic is destroying the Earth.
• I learnt more about our harmful impacts on the planet and how we can try to make a difference.
• I enjoyed the Earth Day celebration and learned a lot about things I did not know. I really enjoyed Kirtanya’s presentation.
• I enjoyed the presentation about marine biology and marine life. I learnt something new.
• Plastic is bad for animals and we need to make changes.
• I enjoyed the lessons from the Earth Day celebration and learnt a lot of new things.
• I enjoyed learning about Earth and how we can save it. The video was very motivational. I am prepared to try my best in the competitions. All the presentations were clear and very helpful. Thank you for this opportunity.
• I enjoyed the presentation on SASSI because I gained knowledge about many marine species.
• The lesson about the ocean was an eye-opener, because I learned that sea creatures die because of us and we need to stop plastic pollution.
• I enjoyed all the presentations about the pollution we have caused and what we can do to prevent it.
• The presentations highlighted the fact that humans can destroy the world in a few seconds, and what I can do to prevent it.
• Knowing that I can make a difference in our world makes me happy.
• I learnt a lot from the presentation on seafood awareness and SASSI. How we should buy seafood from the green list and not the red list.
• I enjoyed how all the facilitators made us aware of how we can save our world.
• I enjoyed being part of this meeting. I was amazed and stressed by our actions that affect the earth.