Today, we celebrate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples. 
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Happy Birthday to Henry David Thoreau!
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​This noted writer and naturalist was born July 12, 1817.  In Walden, he enunciated a fundamental tenet for a Pantheist faith:  "Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

Today marks the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the summer solstice.

Of course, for those living in the southern hemisphere, today is the first day of winter.  We hope you're having a good day, wherever you live, as we welcome and celebrate this new season Nature shares with us.

Please enjoy this poem about the specialness of a summer day by Mary Oliver, shared from the Mary Oliver Facebook Page.

Click on the picture above to go the World Oceans Day website for lots more info, resources, action you can take, etc.   To learn more about one person's opinion on how the oceans can and will help climate change and the sea's "power to heal," click on this article, To Save the Climate, Look to the Oceans by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.  As she points out, it's more than the emotional healing that we know Nature brings, but also providing "climate solutions."

Today is World Environment Day...Time for Nature.  Celebrated on June 5th since 1974, World Environment Day has a theme this year of biodiversity.  For lots more good information, click on this UN site, take the quiz, learn more about Nature and pandemics, and check out some other links related to biodiversity.  Enjoy your weekend and hope you get to spend a little time in the beautiful outdoors!

Today, May 20th, is World Bee Day, as proclaimed by the United Nations in 2017.  From Pantheist Vision (Spring 2020), we read:  

"Bees are one of our major pollinators, sustaining food crops and biodiversity.  One third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees, and many species of bees are declining worldwide.  Planting even small spaces, like balconies, with wildflowers can help save bees or help plant public spaces such as along roadways or in your local park."

Read more about World Bee Day from the United Nations here.  They point out that "three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits, or seeds for use as human food depend, at least in part, on bees and other pollinators." 

​Learn more about what you can do to help protect bees and other pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds, and bats, thus contributing to problem solving with regard to the world's food supply and slowing down or stopping the decline of biodiversity.  As this year's theme says, "Bee engaged!"  

(Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash)

(photograph courtesy of the Arbor Day Foundation)

For all the tree huggers out there, this is your day, Love a Tree Day!  Most of us do care about trees and know how important they are for our planet.  For 12 things we love about trees, check out the Arbor Day Foundation page here.  Also click on the link at the top of their page to learn more about the vital roles trees play in all of our lives every day and ways the Arbor Day Foundation encourages our appreciation of them, as well as tree planting.  As they say on their site, "Together, we can create change...through trees."  Don't forget to hug, plant, or simply enjoy a tree this weekend!

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Here in the U.S., the third Friday in May has been designated as Endangered Species Day, established by Congress and spearheaded by the National Wildlife Federation.  It's a great time to learn about the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and also about the endangered animals in your own state.  Read more about celebrating this special day by clicking on the NWF page here.

One example of an endangered species found on the NWF website is pictured below, the Florida panther. Click on the link above to find others and discover ways you can help protect these creatures that share our planet and call attention to them.
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