'Earth Hour' - Read and Rise April 2025

I'll be perfectly honest, I've COMPLETELY forgotten about Earth Hour the past few years. I remember trying to do it when the kids were little (although, I'll be honest, it was pretty easy then because 8:30pm was time to be sleeping!) but somewhere along the way it just wasn't on my radar anymore. But while I was at the library collecting lots of awesome Earth Day books, I happened across this one! So I thought I'd kick off the month with Earth Hour as an inspiration for all of us to give an hour for the earth this month (even if you, like me, missed the official earth hour...)

For anyone who may be unfamiliar with Earth Hour, at 8:30pm on a Saturday near the equinox in March everyone is encourage to turn off nonessential lights and electronics as a symbol of conservation and care for the earth. In addition to homes and private businesses, many major landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and the Sydney Opera House are turned off for the hour.

Featured Story: Earth Hour: A Lights-Out Event for Our Planet by Nanette Heffernan and Bao Luu

Activity: Give an hour for the earth! This year's official Earth Hour may have passed, but that's no reason you can't turn off the power for an hour another evening! Or give an hour a different way - the World Wildlife Fund is tracking earth hours all through April. There are 48 activities listed that you can do alone or with your family this month. My county is holding a handful of earth day events like beach cleanups and planting parties and chances are, yours is too! Don't forget to log your hour on the website so it can be added to the total - can you help meet their goal of 125,000 hours of collective action for the planet? I know we can!