None Nature Conservancy News Room Press Releases Search All Press Releases Bridget Lowell The Nature Conservancy 703.841.4531 blowell@tnc.org

The Nature Conservancy: Members Are Weeding, Planting, and Emailing in Honor of Earth Day This Weekend

ARLINGTON, VA – Friday, April 21, 2006 – The Nature Conservancy's members will be expressing their celebration of Earth Day tomorrow, April 22, with unprecedented levels of participation in free ecard campaigns, field trips, online photo contests and volunteer activities and events across all 50 states.

Earth Day also represents the culmination of the Conservancy's "Hope for the Planet" campaign, which kicked off last month with a series of personal essays written by notable celebrities, including renowned political leaders, actors, journalists, conservationists, artists, and others. Other Earth Day efforts have included a free ecard campaign that allowed people to share their own messages of hope via The Nature Conservancy's Earth Day 2006 web site.

"The Nature Conservancy's 'Hope for the Planet' campaign has been even more successful that we had imagined it might be," said President Steve McCormick. "Our Earth Day initiatives have reinforced what we've known all along: people believe they have tremendous power to change our world for the better – and they're determined to do it, starting in the communities in which they live."

Over the last several weeks, the messages of hope that visitors have shared at nature.org/earthday/ have been read by more than 100,000 people around the world. Visitors to the Conservancy's web site have also been participating in Earth Day volunteer activities, sending free nature photography ecards to friends and family, and posting their own, personal messages of hope for the planet.

Tomorrow, Nature Conservancy members across the country will be weeding, planting, picking up litter and learning more about their local environments. Some state chapters will be offering hiking opportunities and educational field trips. To get involved, visit nature.org/earthday/

April 22 also marks the end of The Nature Conservancy New York chapter's photo contest. Since last month, New Yorkers have been sending photos of their favorite places in the state; winners will receive prizes from The Nature Conservancy, and their entries will be displayed online.