Much attention has focused on what a strong El Niño could mean for food security, disasters, and the economy. Biodiversity loss deserves the same urgency because healthy ecosystems support our global food systems, buffer communities from extreme weather, and sustain livelihoods for billions of people worldwide. Biodiversity is already declining because of land-use change, resource exploitation, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. A strong El Niño could accelerate this decline by driving habitat loss and degradation, altering wildlife movement and behavior, and disrupting conservation efforts.

When Habitats Are Lost and Degraded

Habitat loss occurs when species lose the places they need to feed, breed, shelter, and find water, causing populations to shrink and making local extinctions more likely. Human land-use change remains the main driver of this process, especially through deforestation and agricultural conversion, but a strong El Niño can accelerate habitat loss by increasing the risk of extreme conditions like drought, storms, and flooding. 

In Indonesia, the 2015–2016 El Niño created unusually dry conditions that allowed fires to spread across drained and degraded peatlands in Sumatra and Kalimantan. These fires burned an estimated 2.6 million hectares of land, destroying forests, damaging peat-swamp habitats, and threatening wildlife that depends on these ecosystems, including endangered Bornean orangutans.

Even when habitats are not completely destroyed, extreme disturbances can degrade their quality and weaken their ability to provide food, shelter, and breeding conditions. For example, during marine heatwaves coral reefs expel the symbiotic algae that provide much of their energy, leading to bleaching, disease, and death.  As live coral declines, reefs lose the structure that fish, invertebrates, and other marine species rely on for shelter, feeding, and reproduction. 

In 2024, the Great Barrier Reef experienced its fifth mass bleaching event since 2016 and its most widespread on record, following what (at the time) was the fifth strongest El Niño ever recorded. 2025 surveys showing hard coral cover declines on nearly half of the 124 reefs assessed and losses reaching 70.8% on some reefs.

When Wildlife Shifts Their Behavior and Movement

A strong El Niño can also accelerate biodiversity loss by changing how wildlife behave under stress. When drought reduces food and water, animals may alter their daily behavior by feeding closer to people, entering farms more often, and taking greater risks to survive. 

In Zambia’s Luangwa River Basin and surrounding Eastern Region, the 2023–2024 El Niño-linked drought reduced food and water for people, livestock, and wildlife, which in turn increased confrontations between humans and wildlife. As food and water became scarcer, elephants and other wildlife moved closer to farms, settlements, and shared water points.  Resource Africa reported that elephants and hippos destroyed more than 200 hectares of crops in the Eastern Region. 

Along the U.S. West Coast, marine heatwaves and El Niño-linked warm years can compress cool, nutrient-rich upwelling ocean habitats, pushing humpback whales and their prey closer to nearshore fishing areas. This movement increases overlap with fixed fishing gear, including Dungeness crab pots and vertical lines. A recent study found that reported humpback whale entanglements were highest in years with limited suitable habitat and feeding grounds,  including spikes during the 2015–2016 marine heatwave and El Niño period and 31 confirmed humpback entanglements in 2024.

When Conservation Efforts Are Disrupted

A strong El Niño can intensify extreme storms and flooding, disrupting the infrastructures that conservation work depends on. Protected areas rely on well-maintained infrastructure and operational equipment, such as roads, fences, vehicles, communication systems, and monitoring tools. These resources help staff patrol boundaries, monitor conditions, care for wildlife, and respond quickly to threats.

In Kenya, the 2023–2024 El Niño likely contributed to the severe flooding in March–May 2024.. The floods affected more than 380,000 people, damaged more than 60 roads, destroyed bridges, and caused about $35 million in losses. These disruptions also reached conservation sites, including Ol Pejeta Conservancy, where the flooding badly damaged perimeter and chimpanzee sanctuary fences, closed the chimpanzee facility for months, and increased wildlife-security and chimp-welfare costs.

Climate extremes around strong El Niño periods can also weaken conservation by stretching the institutions responsible for enforcement and land protection. When agencies are forced to prioritize emergency response, fewer resources may be available to prevent, monitor, and stop illegal burning, land clearing, and wildlife crime. 

Peru’s record 2024 wildfires show how quickly this strain can escalate when drought, human-started fires, and limited response capacity converge. The Global Wildfire Information System recorded about 10,400 fires in Peru in 2024, more than double the previous record. As fires spread across grasslands, dry forests, coastal areas, and the Amazon, limited capacity made it harder to contain the crisis and protect vulnerable ecosystems.

Toward More El Niño-Resilient Ecosystems

Building El Niño-resilient ecosystems starts with regenerative approaches that strengthen biodiversity, restore ecological function, and support the communities that depend on healthy landscapes. Regenerative agriculture can improve soil health by increasing organic matter, helping farms retain more water during drought, reducing erosion during floods, and supporting the soil biodiversity that sustains nutrient cycling, crop productivity, and climate resilience. Agroforestry builds on this resilience by bringing trees back into working landscapes, creating shade, habitat, and food sources for wildlife while helping farmers diversify their livelihoods through fruit, timber, fuelwood, fodder, and other tree-based products.

El Niño resilience also depends on stronger institutions and sustained investment for the people working closest to biodiversity loss. Frontline communities, Indigenous peoples, local leaders, conservation organizations, and protected-area agencies need resources before extreme conditions escalate into disasters. Funding should support early-warning systems, biodiversity monitoring, emergency planning, and rapid response, while long-term partnerships can help protect vulnerable species and ecosystems before losses become harder to reverse.

Reducing the pressures that make biodiversity vulnerable is just as important as preparing for El Niño itself. Ecosystems are better able to survive droughts, floods, fires, and marine heatwaves when species have enough food, clean water, breeding sites, shelter, and space to move before extreme conditions arrive. 

Cutting emissions can reduce the heat stress that forces plants and animals beyond their limits and makes recovery harder after an El Niño event. Protecting and reconnecting habitats can help wildlife move away from burned forests, dried wetlands, flooded nesting areas, or warming ocean zones. Managing invasive species can also reduce competition and predation, giving native plants and animals a better chance to recover when extreme events disrupt food webs.

Biodiversity is the foundation of global food, health, and economic systems, making its loss a direct threat to human security and well-being. A Super El Niño would intensify that threat by pushing already weakened ecosystems closer to their limits. The way forward is clear: scale regenerative systems that sustain biodiversity and livelihoods, support frontline communities and the institutions they depend on, and reduce the pressures pushing species and ecosystems toward collapse.

A Super El Niño should inspire a global response rooted in science, equity, and local action. Support EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project to restore habitats, expand tree cover, and strengthen communities, and join The Great Global Cleanup to remove waste and plastic pollution from the ecosystems we all depend on.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at woods@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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A City Organizes Itself

São Paulo is a massive city with a population of around 11.4 million people and is divided into 32 subprefectures. Having to coordinate a unified environmental effort across all of them is no small task, yet that is what happened this Earth Day. 

To prepare for Earth Day, São Paulo partnered with Clean Brazil Institute or Instituto Limpa Brasil as part of EARTHDAY.ORG’S Great Global Cleanup campaign. Through the Great Global Cleanup campaign, EARTHDAY.ORG supported local partnerships that helped train community leaders, mobilize volunteers, and connect São Paulo’s cleanup to a global movement for community action. 

A mutirão is more than a neighborhood cleanup. It is a long-standing tradition of neighbors coming together to solve a shared problem or achieve a common goal through collective volunteer work. That tradition guided São Paulo’s Earth Day activities from start to finish.  

The preparation began on Earth Day itself. On April 22nd, community leaders gathered for training that prepared them to organize volunteers and lead cleanup efforts in their own neighborhoods. Then, on April 25, those leaders led simultaneous cleanup crews across every subprefecture in the city.

By Earth Day, those trained community leaders had mobilized more than 2,000 volunteers to participate in hands-on cleanup efforts, while residents took part in surrounding community events and awareness activities that gave the day its scale. Volunteers hauled plastics, paper, and other irregularly dumped trash from streets and squares.  

More Than a Cleanup

The goal was never to simply haul away trash. It was to show, block by block, that lasting environmental progress starts with people getting involved. By the end of the day, volunteers had removed roughly 150 tons of waste in a single coordinated effort, showing what community action can achieve.

Environmental education in local communities was a part of the effort. São Paulo’s State Environmental Education Policy describes this kind of work as a way to help students build a sense of responsibility and belonging toward parks, rivers, and public spaces around them. 

Waste picker cooperatives were also an important part of the cleanup, helping sort and recover recyclable materials while connecting a one-day event to an ongoing recycling system. The work didn’t end when Earth Day was over. Brazil recognizes waste picker cooperatives as partners in municipal waste management through its National Solid Waste Policy, and their role helped ensure that recyclable materials collected during the cleanup continued through São Paulo’s recycling system. 

Part of Something Bigger

São Paulo wasn’t the only city taking action this Earth Day. Through EARTHDAY.ORG’S Great Global Cleanup, communities in 190 countries organized cleanups throughout April 2026. These efforts show how local cleanups can bring communities together while encouraging long-term action on illegal dumping and waste management. 

A São Paulo Waste Study found that when trash isn’t managed properly it can contaminate waterways and worsen flooding, challenges that the city has been facing for years. While every community approaches cleanup differently, São Paulo showed what can happen when local leadership, residents, schools, and environmental organizations all work towards something that feels distinctly local. 

Whether it’s joining a local cleanup, organizing neighbors, or participating in EARTHDAY.ORG’s Great Global Cleanup, every effort helps build healthier communities, one block at a time. Find a cleanup near you and get involved at EARTHDAY.ORG.

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At a recent Earth Day cleanup event, Block by Block Philly brought residents, volunteers, local partners, and community organizations together to address litter, illegal dumping, and neighborhood waste. The event reflected the spirit of EARTHDAY.ORG’s 2026 theme, “Our Power, Our Planet,” by showing how environmental action can begin at the local level, one block at a time.

Block by Block Philly began with someone seeing street litter and illegal dumping up close. These problems do more than make a neighborhood look rundown. They affect public health, weaken residents’ sense of safety, and create the feeling that a community has been forgotten. By organizing cleanup events across Philadelphia, Block by Block Philly works to change that reality through direct, visible action.

During the event, a Block by Block Philly representative emphasized that community building is at the center of their work. When asked what he wanted to be remembered for, he said he wanted to be remembered as a “community builder.”

That spirit of partnership was clear throughout the event. He talked about working with an aligned nonprofit, a kids’ sports nonprofit, and a local coffee shop to make the cleanup happen. This kind of teamwork turns environmental work into something bigger: a space where neighbors meet, local groups support one another, and residents feel more connected to the place they live.

The event was also rooted in the idea that Earth Day should not be limited to one day of action.

That sense of purpose is especially important in a city like Philadelphia, where environmental challenges are often tied to broader issues of public health, safety, and inequality. Litter, illegal dumping, and poor waste management are not just environmental concerns. They shape how residents feel about their streets, their neighborhoods, and their ability to shape the place they call home.

For Block by Block Philly, cleanup work is a way to push back against that feeling of neglect. It gives residents a chance to reclaim public spaces and show that their neighborhoods deserve care. The organization also connects cleanup efforts with education, art, and local culture, helping environmental action feel visible, local, and lasting.

One of the most powerful parts of the event was the way it brought people from different parts of the city together. The interviewee, who lives in the neighborhood, said the turnout made them feel “welcomed and loved.” He mentioned seeing someone come from South Philly all the way to North Philly to help with the cleanup.

That quote captures the deeper meaning of Block by Block Philly’s work that they are not only cleaning streets, but also creating moments where people can see themselves as part of a larger citywide community. When someone crosses neighborhood lines to help clean another part of Philadelphia, the act becomes more than volunteer service, but a statement of shared responsibility.

This is what “Our Power, Our Planet” can look like at the neighborhood level. It is not always a distant or abstract idea. Sometimes it looks like residents gathering on a street, local partners showing up with support, volunteers removing trash, and people choosing to care for a block that belongs to all of them. “Block by block, neighbor by neighbor.”  Block by Block Philly is helping turn environmental action into community power. In the face of litter, illegal dumping, and public health concerns, the organization’s work shows that change can begin with one cleanup, one partnership, and one group of people deciding that their community is worth protecting.

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Earth Day 2026 is less than one month away, with the EARTHDAY.ORG official theme this year being “Our Power, Our Planet”. In preparation for the holiday, the Great Global Cleanup team has been connecting with international organizations and partners to offer support and gain inspiration. 

The Great Global Cleanup connects thousands of volunteers and organizations around the world; people with different stories, goals, and meaning behind their work. Each organization we work with is unique, and we wanted to highlight the impactful, diverse actions they are all doing to help lead the charge in creating a waste-free world. We asked a few of our partners firsthand why they believe cleanups are important and what Earth Day means to them, and here’s the inspiring words they shared with us:

The Great Raleigh Cleanup: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

In Raleigh, North Carolina, a mighty group called The Great Raleigh Cleanup works tirelessly to enhance the community by picking up litter throughout the city. They organize a variety of programs, including their Workforce Program, which offers unhoused people employment opportunities to pick up trash on roadsides, parks, and other locations. In addition to $18/hour, they also receive a free meal. No matter what the program is, TGRC brings the community together to make a difference.

Preston Ross, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director, is the leading voice behind the scenes. EARTHDAY.ORG has worked with Preston and TGRC for the past few years, and it’s been amazing to see how they inspire their community. Preston puts it into words best, and shares their plans for Earth Day this year:

The Clean Wave: Tamarindo Costa Rica

In Tamarindo on the pacific coast of Costa Rica, The Clean Wave organizes community-based cleanup events on both land and sea, focused on protecting coastal ecosystems and advancing zero-waste solutions. The organization emphasizes the idea that meaningful environmental change begins at the local level, taking collective action while contributing to a larger, global movement. Whether in town, on the beach, or scuba diving in the ocean, members and volunteers of this organization are fully dedicated to creating a cleaner environment. 

Hear from Andres Bermudez, The Clean Wave’s President and CEO, on why Earth Day is important to Costa Ricans:

Global Alliance on Environment: Ghana, West Africa

Global Alliance on Environment is a fast growing movement dedicated to environmental education outreach. Through a partnership with Ghana Education service, they organize school visits in the East Bono region of Techiman, West Africa, with the goal of educating and empowering youth to join the conservation movement. They also organize local community cleanups and Earth Day events to engage residents across Ghana.

CEO Enock Mustapha plays an active role in the outreach programs, working diligently to mobilize the younger generation. He shares his ideas on environmental change:

The Litterboom Project: Cape Town, South Africa

Founded in 2017, The Litterboom Project is an organization working year round to intercept trash in local rivers before it reaches the ocean. By identifying hotspots, the team wades into the river currents, cleaning up the water. While they do the bulk of the work, local volunteers are encouraged to attend their public cleanups, where they can clean up local beaches and make the crew’s job easier!

Casey Pratt is one of the team members working tirelessly to prevent ocean pollution. She shares the importance of getting involved not only on Earth Day, but year round:

River Cleanup: Antwerp, Belgium

River Cleanup is a global organization with a community of over 100 countries. By using their own Clean River Model, which integrates solutions for plastic-free rivers, they work to prevent new plastic pollution and permanently remove waste from their lands. Their River Watchers program invites citizens and schools to help monitor plastic pollution in rivers through AI-supported waste recognition.

On top of that, they hold both public and private cleanups across multiple countries, encouraging communities to get involved. Sarah Van de Walle and her team speaks on the mission of River cleanup:

Earth Day Network India: India and South Asia

EARTHDAY.ORG’s India team implements year-round programs that engage everyone from community-based organizations to government leaders, with efforts extending across South and Southeast Asia and strengthening collaboration in over two dozen countries.

India generates about 5.6 million tons of plastic waste annually, much of it unmanaged. To address this, EARTHDAY.ORG India partners run citizen-led initiatives to end plastic pollution, including cleanup events around the region.

Karuna Singh is the Regional Director of Asia for EARTHDAY.ORG, leading diverse teams to build partnerships and deliver climate initiatives tailored to local needs. Singh adds:

Join the Movement

From the rivers of Belgium to the reefs of Costa Rica, the message from our partners is clear: change happens when people show up.

This Earth Day, you don’t need to travel far to make a difference. A cleanup near you could be happening right now. Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or picking up a trash bag for the first time, your action matters, and it connects you to a global community of millions doing the same.

Find a cleanup near you on the Great Global Cleanup Map, or even register your own cleanup event. Together, we are “Our Power, Our Planet.” 

The post What Earth Day Means Around the World: Voices from 6 of Our Great Global Cleanup Partners appeared first on Earth Day.

Date: September 20th, 2025
Weather: Sunny and warm with a light breeze
Mood: Ecstatic and excited

September 20th marked World Cleanup Day, but for The Golden State, it also marked California Coastal Cleanup Day: one of the nation’s largest annual volunteer events uniting communities each September to clear trash from beaches, rivers, and shorelines. For over four decades, this powerful movement has mobilized people across California, removing countless tons of debris and generating data that has shaped significant environmental policies, such as state-wide plastic bans, limits on single-use plastics, and stronger stormwater regulations.

The town of Berkeley, located in northern Alameda County, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, has played a notable role in this movement. The Berkeley Shoreline Cleanup was added to the statewide effort in 1988 thanks to longtime coordinator Patty Donald, who helped grow the program from a small class outing to Strawberry Cove, an area of natural beauty near the town, into a major community tradition. Under her leadership, the city became a hub for monthly cleanups, student field trips, and hands-on environmental education at the Shorebird Park Nature Center. 

This past Saturday, September 20th, I was able to experience this movement firsthand at the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day Shorebird Park event, organized by the City of Berkeley. This day of cleaning up trash rekindled my deep appreciation for Berkeley’s heartening community.

Every UC Berkeley student is familiar with the AC Transit 51B bus line, known as the University – College – Rockridge route; it runs between Rockridge BART station in Oakland and Berkeley Amtrak station (Berkeley Marina area), serving many stops along the way. Thankfully this classic mode of transportation brought me directly to the Berkeley Marina, the location of the cleanup. The weather couldn’t have been better, as the sun was shining in a clear sky with a light breeze near the water. I packed my tote bag with necessary supplies to tackle the day: a water bottle (not in a single use bottle btw), hand sanitizer, granola bar, sunglasses, and my San Francisco Giants hoodie (obviously). 

I walked up to the park around 10:00 am to see many different groups of people already beginning to fill up their trash bags. Eager to get started, I checked in at the tent and grabbed some gloves, a trash bag, and a trash picker. I then headed toward the walking paths along the San Francisco Bay and began my cleanup journey.

I was instantly greeted by kind volunteers of all ages, making conversation as we searched for trash. This is what I love most about Berkeley: how welcoming and friendly the community is, no matter if I’m on campus or in town. 

It’s also easy to feel the Bay Area’s strong environmental values in the enthusiasm people bring to cleanups. There is truly no other place with this energy and dedication, and meeting the lovely, like-minded locals at this event made me appreciate my college town even more. Experiences like this illustrate how when individual communities come together, their collective efforts have the power to drive real change and shape a sustainable, just future. 

A moment to highlight was getting to share all about EARTHDAY.ORG and how the Great Global Cleanup initiative works with other volunteers. One of them told me that she travels often and is always looking for ways to give back to the communities she visits. When I showed her the cleanup map, she absolutely loved the idea because it meant she could easily find opportunities to join cleanups wherever she goes in the world!

Many pieces of styrofoam, candy wrappers, plastic, bottle caps, and glass filled up my trash bag as I continued along my way. The park stretches about 2 miles, and I was sure to cover as much land as I could while also enjoying the view of San Francisco and chatting with other volunteers. The cleanup concluded around noon, and at the end, a whole truck’s bed was stuffed to the brim with trash bags, successfully cleaning up the coast. 

As I left the marina, I couldn’t help but notice how the shoreline looked just a little bit better, definitely cleaner than when we had arrived, and how the community spirit felt even brighter. Although small, this cleanup still has long-term impacts, it helps create a safer park for the community and wildlife, contributes to important data collection, and sets a precedent for future environmental stewardship because the community bonds demonstrate how real change starts at the local level. 

I ended World Cleanup Day/California Coastal Cleanup Day feeling eternally grateful for the wonderful community that UC Berkeley has brought me to, which also left me a bit sentimental as I begin my senior year. 

Thank you to everyone who celebrated World Cleanup Day this year, no matter where you were in the world. If you’re looking for more ways to get involved, visit The Great Global Cleanup to partner with us, find a cleanup near you, or register your own cleanup.

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Shot in the leg during Japan’s advance into Burma in 1942, Japanese soldier Chiyoji Nakagawa lay alone, unconscious in a bell tower, uncertain if he would live to see another day. His entire 

regiment had been wiped out and Nakagawa was alone. Fortunately, against the odds, he survived, and when he returned home to Japan, he made a commitment to himself to spread a newfound belief: No More Wars.

In 1951, Nakagawa, attended the United Nations 6th General Assembly in Paris, as an observer representing the Japanese U.N. Association. Despite Japan not being a UN member state at the time, he proposed constructing a Peace Bell using coins contributed by people from around the world who, like him, wished for peace. The UN agreed to his beautiful idea and in 1952, the United Nations Economic and Social Council officially gave their permission for the Bell to be formally accepted by the UN. 

Nakagawa would go on to receive coins from 65 different nations, including the Soviet Union and the Vatican, with gold coins depicting Jesus and the Virgin Mary donated by Pope Pius XII. The Peace Bell was cast with thousands of coins and this inscription –“Long Live Absolute World Peace” in Japanese completed Nakagawa’s vision. 

Peace Bell in New York City

In 1953, the Peace Bell made its long journey from Japan to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, US. As a poignant symbol of peace, soil from Hiroshima and Nagasaki accompanied the Bell and was later buried beneath its foundation stone. These two cities serve as devastating reminders of the catastrophic potential of nuclear warfare.

The first and only use of nuclear weapons in war killed hundreds of thousands instantly, with many more dying in the aftermath due to the lingering effects of radiation. The bombings also wreaked havoc on the environment, scorching forests, contaminating soil, and poisoning water sources. 

It wasn’t until 1981 that the United Nations General Assembly, under Resolution 36/67, declared a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. In 2001 the UN General Assembly officially established September 21 as the International Day of Peace and each year since, the UN has rung the Nakagawa’s Peace Bell outside its Headquarters, calling for global peace. 

EARTHDAY.ORG, as one of the leaders of the environmental movement, works every day to unite communities,  protect the planet, and create a safe, healthy, and livable future for all. But, we also know that caring for the environment isn’t possible without peace. 

Today, nine countries have nuclear weapons, the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel (although Israel has a policy of ambiguity and has never officially confirmed its nuclear arsenal). Collectively they have over 13,000 nuclear warheads scattered around the globe. But, of course, nuclear weapons are not the only way war devastates the natural world. 

Ecocide is Real

Even without nuclear firepower, the impacts of war on the environment, whether as collateral damage or through intentional targeting, remain severe. This type of warfare on the environment that leads to severe, long-term, and widespread destruction has a name: Ecocide.

History shows us that the intentional targeting of natural resources is a strategy that is far from new. A scorched earth policy refers to completely destroying an enemy’s resources, including water sources, crops, forests, and any other natural resources. This strategy debilitates an enemy’s forces, but also directly affects the civilian population, leading to severe humanitarian crises that can last for generations. Today, we see ecocide unfolding in conflicts around the world.

Officials have documented several thousand cases of environmental destruction in Ukraine. Much of Ukraine’s 10 million hectares of forests has been destroyed in the conflict, causing over $30 billion in damage and wiping out wildlife habitats in the region. These burned forests alone released an estimated 6.75 million tonnes of CO₂ into the atmosphere. 

In addition, more than 425,000 hectares of forest are contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance, threatening both people, wild animals and ecosystems for decades to come. Even the seas are not spared: increased sonar activity in the Black Sea has been linked to rising numbers of dead dolphins washing ashore.

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in 2023 is one of the worst examples of the war’s environmental toll. When the dam was destroyed, it unleashed floods across an area roughly the size of Luxembourg. The torrent contaminated the river with industrial lubricants and heavy metals, threatening human health for years to come. Vast stretches of farmland were destroyed, and thousands of landmines were dislodged and swept downstream – their final locations still unknown. Water is repeatedly used as a weapon of war and as a result Ukraine plans to prosecute Russia for ecocide. 

War Destroys Nature and People 

Fighting to protect the environment also means rejecting war. Which is why this year, for the 2025, International Day of Peace, EARTHDAY.ORG’s partner, Let’s Do It World is hosting World Cleanup Day in Kyiv, Ukraine. There, they are working with partners on the ground not only to clean up waste and pollution but also to call for the end of this destructive war, and support the rebuilding of Ukraine.

As environmentalists we know that true sustainability isn’t possible without peace. Today, in New York, the Peace Bell will be rung. This is a poignant reminder of the devastation that our species is capable of, but also the possibility of peace that we are also capable of creating. EARTHDAY.ORG’s 2025 theme, Our Power, Our Planet reminds us of the power and agency people have at an individual, community, and international level to create the world we want to see. Meaning if we want peace, we have the capability to choose it.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Today you’ll find me knee-deep in a river, clearing away the plastic bottles and bags caught in the brush. For me, it’s the best way to spend World Cleanup Day. 

Today, September 20th, is World Cleanup Day. Millions of people from all corners of the planet are joining together to clean up their communities, their parks, and their world to create an Earth free from trash and plastic pollution. 

As the lead on The Great Global Cleanup at EARTHDAY.ORG, today is a special and hugely busy time. I do cleanups year round, but there is something special about being a part of a massive movement, happening in every corner of the planet, all on the same day that really makes it feel different. You can almost feel the energy in the air whether you’re at a beach, on a river, or just on your own street, picking up trash. 

Where it Began

The first official World Cleanup Day was black in 2018, and six years later in 2024, it was officially added to the calendar of United Nations International Days. But the origins of this day goes back further and is down to the work of our amazing partner, Let’s Do It World.

It began in Estonia in 2008 when they mobilized 50,000 people to clean up the entire country in a single day, collecting over 10,000 tonnes of trash. Yes you heard that right. That spark ignited a global movement, and by 2018, it had grown into a worldwide call to action.

Cleanups aren’t a new solution. As far back as the first Earth Day in 1970, community cleanups were part of the environmental movement. But many of these early efforts were led by organizations, ironically backed by the actual plastic producers, who cleverly shifted the blame for their plastic pollution onto consumers. Back then it was framed as if only people would stop dropping trash there would be no issue – when we all know the real issue is that plastic is being over produced. Often unnecessarily, as in the case of anything made of single use plastics. 

The plastic industry fed us lies about  recycling campaigns, which as we now know, are not the solution. By making consumers believe they were responsible for plastic pollution, they  wouldn’t apply pressure onto the plastic producers to fix the problem. The problem is that the sheer amount of plastic produced – over 400 million tonnes every year and rising – makes the job of cleaning it up virtually impossible.

Cleanups – We Can’t Do it Alone!

Around the world, I’ve spoken with many cleanup organizers and they all run into a similar problem. They pick a site and make it spotless, but fast forward a month, a week, or even a day, and trash begins to return. 

This doesn’t mean that cleanups don’t work – they do. The trash needs to be removed from the environment, and we know that cleanups can prevent up to 99% of the microplastics that would otherwise break down into waterways reaching our rivers and oceans. 

We also know from behavioral science that if just 5% of a population adopts an action, it can spread across the entire community. This is why Let’s Do It World has chosen the theme Strive For Five  this year. 

It’s Not Just Pollution  – It’s Our Health Too

Microplastics have taken over our world: we are breathing them, drinking them, eating them in our food and now they are inside our homes, our body’s, our children, and even our hearts. Their chemicals are known endocrine disruptors with links to cancer, strokes, infertility, miscarriages, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and developmental issues. 

That’s why EARTHDAY.ORG and Let’s Do It World are calling for a 60% reduction in plastic production by 2040, and a strong Global Plastics Treaty. 

Where We Are Now

Today, the global cleanup movement is a force to be reckoned with. Organizers are no longer satisfied with single-day events. The simple act of removing trash is being linked to broader fights against plastic pollution and campaigns for environmental justice.

Take, for example, EARTHDAY.ORG’s partners in the Underserved Community Cleanup Campaign. They use cleanup events not only to protect their neighborhoods from pollution but also to bring vital resources, attention, and pride back to overlooked areas. 

In Detroit, we are working with our partner, Detroit Hives, Michigan, as they clean up abandoned lots, and turning them into Bee Farms; in Raleigh, North Carolina, The Great Raleigh Cleanup is working with people experiencing homelessness and giving them paid opportunities to cleanup their own community; in Miami, Florida, Debris Free Oceans is tackling the illegal dumping issues in neighborhoods like Calle Ocho. 

Luckily it’s a very easy movement to join, you just need to go outside and pick up trash and at EARTHDAY.ORG we’ve tried to make it even easier than that. Check out our Global Cleanup Map to find a cleanup near you, or use our toolkit to learn how to create your own. Grab friends, family, or coworkers, choose a site, and help us create a waste-free world. 

As for my plans for this year’s World Clean Up Day, I’ll be picking up trash with my friends on a river bank, probably covered in mud, but leaving behind a much cleaner space. I hope to see you out there maybe. But whatever you do, do something positive to help the planet and your community this World Clean Up Day! Thank you. 

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After hours of a grueling hike on the side of a snowcapped mountain, I had finally made it to the Hidden Lake Lookout at the Edge of the North Cascades National Park in Washington. The peak we found ourselves at was surrounded by an endless view of mountains as far as the eye could see. For someone living in the swamps of Florida, where the highest mountains are literally the trash dumps, the view was overwhelmingly beautiful.

The view of the hidden lake from the summit was incredible. The deep blue water was motionless at the bottom of the valley, framed by rocks, ice, and scattered evergreen trees. Deep in the national park, this stunning lake looked untouched and pristine from the pollution and chaos of the rest of the world. 

But even this far away from civilization, I saw what I never seem able to escape: plastic. Specifically, a plastic sandwich clamshell.

I’m sure it was left behind by a hiker who was not ill-meaning, but unfortunately, with the amount of plastic we use and are inundated with everyday in our lives, it’s almost impossible not to even accidentally leave behind plastic bread crumbs wherever we go, no matter how far away. 

Hiking in the Cascades and with World Cleanup Day  just around the corner on September 20th, I can’t help but think about the natural wonders we have in the United States. Our national parks are the true jewels of our nation, and something we should not only be proud of, but something we should be actively protecting. I’ve traveled around the world doing cleanup work and picking up trash wherever I go, but I can’t help but be captivated by the sheer beauty that the United States offers. As an environmentalist, I feel the need to act to protect these special places whenever I can.

In my opinion, our national parks, of which there are 63, are perhaps the best idea we’ve ever had.

The very first national park ever created in the world was Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park in 1879, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. This special place was designated “as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” Since the inception of Yellowstone, globally, more than 100 other nations have set aside land for over 1,200 national parks, inspired by the U.S. model. 

Theodore Roosevelt: The Godfather of National Parks

Theodore Roosevelt, known as the ‘conservationist president’, doubled the number of national parks in the United States, adding 230 million acres of protected land, and left a legacy with the Antiquities Act of 1906. This gave presidents the authority to protect landmarks and landscapes without waiting for Congress. 

Roosevelt protected vast swaths of land not only for public enjoyment and use, but also for wildlife, biodiversity and for the nation’s environmental health. 

Roosevelt’s legacy is celebrated by many of us today, but during his time, he was heavily criticized and his efforts were often met with ardent opposition – largely from political opponents, and industry and business leaders, who saw his reach to protect millions of acres of land, as being in direct opposition to economic growth through the expansion of logging, mining, and ranching. 

But Roosevelt spent time in nature, throughout the U.S., and he inherently understood the importance of protecting some of our nation’s forests and wild places. As Roosevelt expressed in 1908, the rights of the public to enjoy and access these natural resources outweighed everything else and therefore had to be given first consideration. 

His visionary approach is perhaps best showcased in his journal, written during his first visit to the Badlands of South Dakota: “We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation.” 

It’s impossible not to assume that Roosevelt would have been shocked at how quickly our leaders have forgotten this sentiment and now seem to regard the wilderness of our nation as merely a vast commodity.  

Deforestation has swept across the United States, while our rivers are choked with pollutants and fertilizers — most notably the Mississippi, which has created a yearly “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that suffocates the fish living there. On top of that, the world produces more than 400 million tonnes of plastic every year, half of it designed for single use, much of which ends up littering our streets, oceans, rivers, beaches, and green spaces.

The Threat to our National Parks

Today, we face a similar fight to protect the legacy of the conservationists who travelled before us. Microplastics have invaded every corner of our Earth, from our national parks to our bloodstream; they are inside our children, our food, our homes, and even our hearts. Their chemicals are known endocrine disruptors with links to cancer, strokes, infertility, miscarriages, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and developmental issues. 

Plastic isn’t the only threat to our nation’s natural beauty. Today, the current administration has cut funding to the National Park Service, leading to a significant drop in the number of rangers employed to maintain the parks as well as limiting visitor capacity. At the same time, proposals to weaken the EPA’s Endangerment Finding would gut the EPA’s own ability to regulate greenhouse gases. Endangering not only the park, but the health of every American, while at the same time driving climate change. 

With World Cleanup Day here, we must continue to protect these incredible parks. Joining a cleanup is an easy way to prevent waste and plastic pollution from harming the environment and your own community. If plastic waste especially is not removed, it will eventually end up in the oceans, forests and waterways that most of us love. Check out the Global Cleanup Map to find a cleanup happening near you, or create your own, not just for September 20th, but all year round. 

Perhaps more importantly, get outside and visit a national park. Only then will you fully understand why Roosevelt fought so hard to create them, and why we must too. While you’re there, pick up any plastic you happen to see lying on the ground please! 

Protecting our national parks is the responsibility of every American. Not just for our own health and well-being, but for all future generations who deserve to see, experience and enjoy this amazing country as Roosevelt did. 

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Tomorrow marks World Cleanup Day, a day when millions of people around the world unite to take collective action against the global waste crisis. In preparation for this special day, we want to highlight seven of the most powerful cleanups that EARTHDAY.ORG has been part of, alongside our incredible partners worldwide.

Ranging from Armenia to India, and all over the United States, we helped to inspire millions of people to care for our planet. We are grateful to every single person who showed up for these and every other cleanup – and ask everyone to continue to do the same this World Cleanup Day.

1) Yerevan, Armenia

High above Yerevan, the stunning capital city of ancient Armenia, the view from Mount Ararat is breathtaking; however, this beauty lies in stark contrast to the trash that fills some of the streets of the city. This inspired nineteen year-old Hrachya Sahakyan to create Maqoor (“clean” in Armenian), a youth-led movement that has already organized more than 200 cleanups in just one year. 

Partnering with EARTHDAY.ORG in 2024, Maqoor volunteers, made up of mostly teenagers, mobilized to restore polluted sites across Yeveran. Their largest series of cleanups occurred around Lake Yerevan on April 20, 2024, where they  collectively cleared more than 750 pounds of waste in a single day.  This effort helped to transform a heavily trashed area into a cleaner, healthier space for the community and for the wildlife!

Michael Karapetian, coordinator of The Great Global Cleanup, was able to attend this event and see Maqoor in full action. What struck Michael most wasn’t just the trash collected, but the spirit of the volunteers. He was able to witness how the courage of youth leading the charge in a country still recovering from conflict made these cleanups so powerful and inspiring. 

One particular moment stuck with Michael during his journey to Armenia: an eight year-old boy refusing to leave the cleanup, insisting “I need to be here, cleaning up my country.” The Armenia cleanups in 2024 initiated a movement rooted in hope, pride, and community– cleanups go far beyond cleaning up trash and Armenia we saw that in action. 

2) Mumbai, India

In 2024, Earth Day India teamed up with the Indian Coast Guard for a massive cleanup on one of Mumbai’s most crowded beaches. 

A crowd of over 15, 000 people showed up to Mumbai, determined to tackle the tide of plastic pollution washing in from the ocean. While volunteers spread across the beaches to pick up waste, scuba divers cleared debris below the surface and helicopters circled overhead to capture the scale of the effort. The day of hard work ended with a celebratory atmosphere of games, speeches, and community pride.

This powerful cleanup effort is a part of Earth Day India’s larger mission to educate, empower, and engage communities across the country. From cleaning the River Ganges to planting fruit trees in drought-prone areas, their work builds an environmentally aware and active generation ready to take on challenges that protect their environment, and their own health. 

3) Vienna, Austria

In 2024, Planet Matters made waves by launching a global cleanup app for World Cleanup Day, turning environmental action into something exciting. The app allows people to track their cleanups, connect with other cleanup communities, and earn rewards along the way. 

Their motto is clear and true: When it comes to the environment, doing always beats worrying! The moment you take  action, you start feeling hopeful, especially when you’re with friends!

Based in Austria, Planet Matters’s efforts quickly took off as the organization engaged with more than 200 local students to take part in a city wide clean up and teach them that every individual action does make a difference.

This year, Planet Matters is teaming up with the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative to organize  major cleanup events all over the world in the lead up to the next Earth Day, 2026. They are  an inspiring model for how digital innovation and youth leadership can come together to meet the environmental movement head on and energize it!

4) Penang Island, Malaysia

The weekend before Earth Day 2024, over 250,000 volunteers gathered on Penang Island in Malaysia for one of the biggest and most ambitious environmental actions of the year. 

EARTHDAY.ORG joined forces with The Malaysia Humanitarian Foundation to combine hands-on environmental work with global collaboration through the Asian Environmental Summit. That meant they got a ton of people to come together to get their hands dirty, clean up trash and plant trees! In just two days, 1.2 million trees were planted by volunteers, while teams also fanned out across beaches and neighborhoods to haul away almost 2,000 pounds of trash, much of it plastic. 

The momentum carried into the Asian Environmental Summit, held at Penang City Hall, where activists, NGOs, youth leaders, and public figures, including EARTHDAY.ORG ambassador Melissa Tan, came together to share solutions and strategies to the most pressing environmental issues occurring in Asia.

What made this cleanup event so meaningful wasn’t only the remarkable number of trees planted or trash removed, but also how it united community action, ecological restoration, and youth leadership-  into a unified effort. Global challenges can be met when communities take action together and this community came together and made a difference!

5) Raleigh, North Carolina

In April of this year, EARTHDAY.ORG teamed up with The Great Raleigh Cleanup in Raleigh, North Carolina to put a fresh spin on Earth Day action. Under this innovative program, community members experiencing homelessness are hired and paid about $20 per hour as well as provided with meals to lead cleanups in their own neighborhoods. 

Ten local members joined a cleanup in downtown Raleigh, and removed over 1,000 pounds of trash and plastic pollution in just four hours. The wages made it possible for these participants to secure a safe place to stay, a hot meal, and a shower after a long day of work. 

Founder Preston Ross III notes that these small shifts in our concept of community can feel monumental, recalling how workers told him the only nights they could count on a clean, comfortable room, were the days they joined a cleanup. 

Raleigh’s story is another powerful example showing what happens when environmental action is blended with compassion. This is the true spirit of the Global Cleanup Movement, and we hope it is contagious.

6) Compton, California

In a continued effort to support underserved communities, EARTHDAY.ORG partnered with community-oriented nonprofit The Compton Initiative, Los Angeles, California, for one of their beautification cleanup events. 

During this event, volunteers poured their energy into projects as not only cleaned up their neighborhoods, but also painted fences, refreshed the Compton Courthouse Complex, and tended to Lincoln Memorial Park. By the time the work wrapped up, five giant dumpsters were overflowing with trash. FIVE!

A large sense of pride spread through the community, and many people expressed their gratitude for the cleanup volunteers and all of their hard work. Todd Bouquet of The Compton Initiative thoughtfully reflected, “Unity was lifted up, community was strengthened, and family was broadened.” 

7) Miami, Florida

On April 19th, 2025, EARTHDAY.ORG collaborated with Miami-based nonprofit Debris Free Oceans for an action-packed day of cleanup fun in the lively community of Little Havana, Miami along the vibrant stretch of Calle Ocho. 

To start the morning off, volunteers practiced mindfulness with a yoga session before they scattered across the area to clean up sites where illegal trash dumping occurs. This event aimed to amplify these issues and called on the local government to take action. With this mindset, volunteers spent the morning cleaning up almost 200 pounds of trash.

The uplifting, inclusive atmosphere of Little Havana made it easy for volunteers to feel like they were a part of a neighborhood gathering, rather than a trash cleanup event.

Inspired? If YOU want to help make a difference on World Cleanup Day 2025, register to take part in an existing clean-up on our Great Global Cleanup Map or even register your own cleanup with the Great Global Cleanup. Thank you to all our clean up volunteers for being a part of the Global Cleanup Movement!  We salute you!

The post Gear up for World Cleanup Day: 7 of Earth Day’s Most Impactful Cleanups Yet appeared first on Earth Day.

MICHAEL KARAPETIAN

The sun dipped behind the horizon and the sky exploded into reds, blues, pinks, and an orange hue that seems to engulf everything. I’m convinced experiencing the sunset on a beach is the best way to do it. 

Still, even in this natural beauty, walking back up from the shoreline I stop to pick up a plastic wrapper, a plastic bottle cap, and some plastic film that was on its way into the ocean, into a fish, and eventually back into me – before, of course, I rudely interrupted their journey and threw them into the trash.

Having led The Great Global Cleanup for the past three years, the overwhelming beauty of a beach juxtaposed with the blight of plastic is nothing new, but it’s always annoying to see. Plastic seems to find its way into the sand one way or another – either left behind by beach goers, or worse, washing ashore from the currents. 

August 30th is National Beach Day in the US, a reminder that while our beaches are beautiful, they also need care to stay that way. At EARTHDAY.ORG, cleanups are part of our DNA. Over the years, The Great Global Cleanup has joined communities across the world to protect these coastlines. Here are a few of our favorite beach cleanups. 

Mumbai, India

For World Cleanup Day 2024, our Earth Day Network India team partnered with the Indian Coast Guard to take on one of Mumbai’s busiest beaches. Over 1,500 volunteers turned out, joined by helicopters flying overhead to document the action. 

Scuba divers collected debris drifting just offshore, while volunteers combed the water and the sand for plastic floating and buried. The end of the cleanup was met with speeches, games, and other celebrations on the sand. 

Volunteers standing next to massive pile of collected waste, using heavy machinery to in cleanup, and plunging into the ocean searching for trash

Bottom/center: EARTHDAY.ORG’s Debrapriya Dutt speaking to the crown

Volunteers

Yerevan, Armenia

The shore of Yerevan Lake may not be a traditional beach, but it quickly became one of our favorite cleanup sites. For Earth Day 2024, we partnered with Maqoor, a youth-led environmental organization based in Yerevan, Armenia, to restore several spots across the country, including the beach at Yerevan Lake. The shore was covered in plastic, but the young student volunteers went straight to work fishing plastic and other waste out of the waters. 

In just a few hours, we collected over 750 pounds of trash. The lake had become a collection place for plastic that flowed down the Hrazdan River. It showcased first hand how important it is to tackle plastic pollution at its source to prevent waste accumulating in spots like this. 

Volunteers Pulling Trash out of the Yerevan Lake, Michael Karapetian holding a snail with plastic attached to it, and Student Volunteers sorting waste picked up

Charleston, South Carolina

Every year Make It Cute, a company founded by the actress Amanda Seyfried and her friends, hosts a cleanup on the shores of Isle of Palms, a beautiful coastal beach just outside Charleston. Amanda Seyfried and Bravo’s star of Southern Charm, Craig Conover, hosted the event, and after volunteers arrived, consisting of locals, families, and a large group of kids, the event kicked off. 

The kids grabbed bags with enthusiasm and made their way toward the pier, picking up every single piece of trash, plastic, and even cigarette butts along the way. Throughout the cleanup Amanda would stop beachgoers and ask if they had any trash they wanted to discard.

The best thing about a beach cleanup, is that once you’re done you can go for a swim. After the cleanup was finished the volunteers didn’t hesitate to do just that! 

Photo 1: Kids holding the trash grabbers walking towards the ocean

Photo 2: (From Left to Right) Amanda Seyfried, Michael Karapetian, Anne Hoehn, Maureen North, holding an EARTHDAY.ORG and Great Global Cleanup Banner

Photo 3: Maureen North and her son picking up trash

Photo 4: Amanda Seyfried and Greg Conover next to a Make It Cute Playhouse

Photo 5: Volunteer and his dog picking up trash on the beach

Photo 6: Amanda Seyfried holding up a bag of trash she collected

Penang Island, Malaysia

EARTHDAY.ORG partnered with The Malaysia Humanitarian Foundation on the beautiful island of Penang to host a beach cleanup, a massive tree planting, and to join the 2024 Asian Environmental Summit. 

Penang Island, a tropical paradise off the coast of Malaysia, is a tourist hub. Volunteers took charge of the coastline and removed over 1,800 pounds of trash and plastic pollution. 

Along with the cleanup, over 1.2 million trees were planted across the island  – all 30 varieties planted were indigenous species to Penang Island.fff

Photo 1: Volunteers Picking Up Trash on Penang Island 

Photo 2: Volunteer smiling next to several large bags of trash

Photo 3: Volunteers walking through the woods laughing and holding the trash they collected

Santa Monica, California

The Santa Monica Pier is an iconic staple on the Californian coastline. EARTHDAY.ORG has partnered with Heal The Bay on a few of their monthly Nothin’ But Sand Cleanups over the years. Thousands of volunteers regularly join these beach cleanups scaling across the coast line picking up trash that had almost made its way into the ocean. 

Scuba Divers regularly take to the pier where they find trash that had fallen off, which often includes styrofoam cups, misfortunate cell phones, and even computers. 

In April 2025, the Nothin’ But Sand Beach Cleanup brought together more than 900 volunteers to tackle pollution along the Santa Monica coastline. This event combined community action, environmental education, and celebration. Volunteers joined forces to remove 274 pounds of trash from the beach, helping to protect marine life and improve the health of California’s iconic shoreline. 

Photo 1: Merle Liivang (Left), the Estonian Mermaid, and Michael Karapetian (Right) on the beach in Santa Monica

Photo 2: Trash Pulled out of the ocean from Scuba Divers

Photo 3: Volunteers holding Great Global Cleanup Banner

Photo 4: Students checking in cleanup volunteers

National Beach Day is here, and you can join the fight for a cleaner coast. Join The Great Global Cleanup, check out the Global Cleanup Map and find an event near you. 

It’s not just beaches that need our help, the authority of the Environmental Protection Agency to fight climate change is under attack from within and needs your support too. Make your voice heard by telling the EPA to protect our air. And, the next time you’re at the beach, make sure to pick up a few pieces of trash while you’re there. 

If you want to check out some of our other amazing events, see our underserved community cleanups here. 

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