#GetintoEarthWeek

Join Swim Drink Fish! for the #GetIntoEarthWeek Challenge!

This year, 2022, the theme for Earth Day is “invest in our planet.” We’re taking the word invest and putting it into people. This challenge will invite you to invest in our planet by fostering a connection to nature, as we protect what we love. Fostering this connection can take shape in any form you'd like. Whether that be taking a leisurely stroll by the water's edge, taking the plunge at your local waterbody, partaking in the act of forest bathing, creating connection through art, or becoming a community scientist by participating in your local community events.

How It Works:
Each morning leading up to Earth Day on April 22, we’ll send you a newsletter with a fun daily challenge. Each challenge follows a common theme: investing in people, protection, and the planet.

Challenge 1: CONNECT

Challenge 2: COLLECT

Challenge 3: CREATE

Challenge 4: COMMUNITY

We invite you to share your adventures throughout each challenge by using the hashtag #GetIntoEarthWeek and tagging us on social media @swimdrinkfish

Day 1
Here we go!
Ready?
Let's
#GetIntoEarthWeek!

Today's theme is CONNECT. What does it mean to connect with water?
It could mean many things and could mean something different for everyone.
Everyone connects in their own way. Connection can be....

Today, we ask you to CONNECT with water and natural environments.
Maybe you already have a waterbody you have a connection to? maybe this is a day where you connect to a new body of water? Maybe you connect through listening, feeling, immersing or find your own way to CONNECT.

Swim Guide helps bring you to the water. Use the free app or website to find your local beach to connect.

Did You Know?
Many studies have shown the incredible benefits of spending time in nature. It can lower blood pressure, calm the nervous system, reduce fear, enhance immune system function, increase self-esteem, reduce anxiety, improve your mood... the benefits are endless!

Connecting with nature is not only a great way to spend your time, it's an investment in your overall wellbeing.

“What we find is that spending time walking on the beach,
there’s a transition towards thinking outwards towards
the environment, thinking about those
patterns – putting your life in perspective"

- Dr Mathew White

Day two’s theme is COLLECT.

Remember when you were a kid and one of your favorite things to do by the water was to search for the prettiest shell or the most colourful rock? finding those special little treasures brought you such joy!
Especially if you shared that treasure with a friend or family member. That little rock then became connected to a feeling and a memory. Collecting is a fun way to discover new things and notice small wonders. Which is why kids love it. Maybe you still pick up a rock when you're by the shoreline?

Maybe you’ve gone from the kid collecting rocks on the beach, to the Community Scientist collecting water samples to help protect and restore your community’s local waters. Community Scientist collecting data as part of one Swim Drink Fish’s Community Water Monitoring Programs.

Collecting is a crucial part of the Swim Drink Fish movement. If it’s collecting some keepsakes on the beach, sampling water for your community, a shoreline cleanup, or collecting stories of your community’s connection to water. No matter what form of collection you choose today, it’s helping better our waterways and planet for future generations.

Day three’s theme is CREATE.

So far, you’ve connected with the water’s edge and collected, be it some keepsakes from the beach, a shoreline cleanup, stories and photos of water and nature, or water quality samples. Now, it’s time to use all that connection and collection to create.

Artists are some of the most dedicated supporters of Swim Drink Fish.
They often have the least to give, but are the first to contribute.
This is also what makes Artists for Water so special.

There’s an artist in all of us. Much like becoming a Community Scientist, all it takes to become an artist supporting clean water is to find your connection. Through that, you’ll start to tell the stories that blend us together as a community working towards creating swimmable, drinkable, fishable water for everyone.

So, on this third day of #GetIntoEarthWeek, go take some photos, share some stories, write a poem, paint a tree, or read about what matters to you. Somewhere, there’s a connection to the water’s edge, and it was you that created it.

Go to the water and CREATE!

Day four's theme is COMMUNITY

Our ask is simple today. Connect with your community.
Working with our communities creates a ripple effect that can amplify our impacts in ways we couldn't have imagined on our own.

It’s people who are going to make the change. It is people who will protect and restore our waterways and forests.

Today, we celebrate you, the people making a difference. The people being a voice for the water, the ones taking part in clean-ups, telling stories of nature, seeking further understanding, the people who bring their own unique perspectives and experiences to the movement.

We thank you for making Swim Drink Fish a strong community.

Still needing some ideas? We’ve got you.
Become a Community Scientist:

Toronto:
Sign up to volunteer with the Lake Ontario Community Water Monitoring Program in Toronto and Kingston.

Vancouver:
Sign up to volunteer with the Fraser Riverkeeper Community Water Monitoring Program in Vancouver.

Join our Swim Guide community by joining one of our monitoring teams in Toronto and Vancouver to sample water quality and share the results on Swim Guide.

Join a cleanup:
Great Lakes:
April 22nd- Swim Drink Fish Earth Day Cleanup
April 22nd- LitterButts
April 23rd- Don’t Mess With Don x Swim Drink Fish
April 23rd- Woodbine Beach (Toronto Lakefront Community)
April 23rd- Pond-ering the Grenadier
April 23rd- Tranquil Waterfront Hike (Black Canadian Hikers)
April 23rd- TRCA earth Day cleanup- learn about stormwater
April 23rd- Roncy Reduces- Sunnyside beach shoreline cleanup
April 23rd- Earth Day Forest Meditation (Halton Hills)
April 24th- Taddle Creek Walk (Lost Rivers)
April 24th- TRCA Colonel Samuel Cleanup
April 24th- Willowdale Community Street Cleanup
April 24th- Earth Day Clean-up with Nature in Transition (Queers 4 Nature)
April 28th- TRCA webinar: Fish and Wildlife Passage
April 28th- Great Lakes Surf Film Festival (Patagonia)
April 29th- Queens Royal Park Cleanup Sunset Beach Cleanup

West Coast
April 21st- What can mother trees teach us about climate justice?
April 21st- When the Tide Went Out the Table Was Set: Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s Work in Nearshore Environments
April 22nd- Forest Bathing at Pacific Spirit Regional Park
April 23rd- Sea Smart Earth Day Kits Beach Cleanup
April 23rd- St. George Rainway Spring Bioblitz and Neighbourhood Clean-u
April 23rd- Earth Day at the Bateman Gallery (Victoria)
April 24th- Buck for a Butt finale (Master Recyler Vancouver)
April 25th- VSBSC Sustainability Conference (Youth focused- featuring ocean bridge)
April 30th- MacKay Creek Volunteer event (Wildcoast Ecological Society)

Remember, connecting and collecting are good for you and our water, but be safe and aware when around the water. This is important to practice all the time when visiting the water’s edge, but especially in spring. Stay safe.