April 23, 2026 | Guest Columnist | news-bulletin.com
By Teresa Smith de Cherif
Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, to raise awareness of mounting environmental degradation. Ten percent of the U.S. population at the time, 20 million people, turned out to demand environmental protection.
That initial civic engagement began as a bipartisan idea and brought people together for one day, Democrats and Republicans, wealthy and working people, city dwellers and rural communities, business and labor unions, to voice their concerns about the deteriorating environment.
This widespread engagement led to the establishment in the early 1970s of the Environmental Protection Agency and many laws, such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
By 1990, Earth Day had expanded globally and mobilized 200 million people in 141 countries. Currently, Earth Day, observed by more than one billion people in more than 200 countries, is the largest secular civic event worldwide.
EARTHDAY.ORG’s president Kathleen Rogers’ recently published essay, “Why Earth Day matters more than ever,” calls for continued civic action to protect our environment, following the recent end of 425 environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.
In keeping with its mission of environmental stewardship, Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District invites folks to celebrate the Earth at Earth Night and Day on April 24-25 at its Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area north of Rio Communities.
Earth Night will be from 5-10 p.m., Friday, April 24, while Earth Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 25.
On Friday and Saturday, kids of all ages can participate in a Recycling Relay and Nature Match Up. They can take a photo in front of a bird wing-span mural as they extend their arms and ask, “What Bird Am I?”
There will be nature magnets to paint, drawings to be made with biochar, and live farm animals to see. Children can decorate upcycled, biodegradable pots for the native wildflower seeds they will plant and take home to grow in their own yards. Face painting will be only on Saturday.
New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard will receive Valencia SWCD’s first Conservation Excellence Award at about 5:15 p.m. on Friday. Commissioner Garcia Richard is being awarded this honor for “outstanding preservation of New Mexico’s Public Lands, in recognition of her trailblazing accomplishments in strengthening education, communication, and collaboration among agencies and the public for land and natural resource conservation.”
Commissioner Garcia Richard has supported Whitfield’s restoration and preservation since she visited the conservation area after it was razed during the April 11, 2022, Big Hole Fire. She also secured resources to conserve the district’s watershed in 2025.
Following remarks by Land Commissioner Garcia Richard, the public will move inside the Visitor and Education Center at 6 p.m. to see a live owl during a presentation about New Mexico’s Nighttime Raptors by local educator and president of New Mexico Raptors, Laura McCann. Next, Valencia SWCD’s board chairwoman will talk about rare wetlands in the Middle Rio Grande.
At 7 p.m., astrophotographer and member of the New Mexico Dark Sky State Council, Sarah McIntyre, will give a slide show about the Aurora Borealis in New Mexico. Her presentation will display colors reminiscent of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night painting. She will then teach visitors how to photograph the night sky, even with their cell phones.
Weather permitting, Night Sky Viewing will begin at about 8:30 p.m., thanks to the district’s partnership with the National Park Service’s Salinas Pueblo Missions’ Abó Unit. The Milky Way should be in view above Whitfield, linking Earth, Night and Sky. There will be a food truck on site and plenty of hot chocolate and cookies for guests, even if cloud cover or wind preclude star gazing.
On Saturday morning, Valencia SWCD board member from the Pueblo of Laguna, Beck Touchin, will give the land acknowledgment at 10:30 a.m. At 10:45 a.m., John Zarola, from Bernalillo County Extension, will give a presentation about composting.
Next, there will be a guided walk around Whitfield’s 1.1-mile perimeter nature trail. Lunch will be available from a local food truck. At 1 p.m., Jade McClellan, of the University of New Mexico’s Long-term Ecological Monitoring Program in Sevilleta, will speak about the importance of dark skies for nighttime pollinators. The district’s Environmental Education Program manager Jeff Sanders will close out Earth Night and Day with a demonstration of water harvesting.
Official Whitfield t-shirts, crafts made from downed invasive trees and biochar will be available for purchase. Valencia SWCD encourages the public to attend Earth Night and Day to experience the many ways we can conserve Planet Earth.
(Teresa Smith de Cherif is board chairwoman of the Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors.)