The J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel celebrates Earth Day every year with an Earth Day at the Refuge event. This year is the eco-holiday’s 50th anniversary. To keep with coronavirus pandemic guidelines, the celebration is going online with a virtual Earth Day Challenge.
Courtesy of J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel
Tune in April 22 to the refuge’s official Facebook page for live and static challenges throughout the day. The activities kick off with a video of supervisory refuge ranger Toni Westland talking about the importance of Earth Day and the refuge’s challenges for the day.
Throughout the day, challenges will be revealed on Facebook that may include animal origami, no power hour, finding nature in your backyard, picking up trash in your neighborhood, and quizzes about recycling and going green.
Most of the videos and other challenges will be linked to the #DingAtHome web page, dingdarlingsociety.org/articles/ding-at-home, to access that day and in days to come. Viewers who accept the challenges can post pictures of themselves, their families and others meeting the challenges for a chance to win 50 prizes — in honor of 50 years of Earth Day.
Stay tuned to the #DingAtHome page in the days leading up to Earth Day for more information on scheduled Facebook postings and how you can participate.
“We celebrate Earth Day every year at the refuge because it’s such a perfect teaching opportunity to raise awareness about recycling and how waste is trashing our planet,” Westland said. “We certainly could not let this big anniversary go uncelebrated. Please join us for a day of fun and learning that will bring a bright ray of nature into our new-normal staying-home routines.”