Earth Day Created by a Unitarian Universalist

Thanks to Ron Hammond, I learned that Earth Day was actually an idea of a Unitarian Universalist: Morton Hilbert, a professor of public health and civil engineering who was a world authority on public water supplies. He was also, in his retirement years, a member of the Eastshore UU Church in Bellevue.

earth day lake

Hilbert encouraged his graduate students to work for the establishment of Earth Day though they would all credit him as being the inspiration for the day.

The idea for an Earth Day had its beginnings in a conference sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service as a way to get college students interested in the environment. Hilbert, who was in attendance, helped students obtain a government grant and worked with them for two years to get the first Earth Day established in April of 1970. It is considered to be the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

Join us this Sunday, April 24, for a celebration of Earth Day. The folk duo, Emma’s Revolution, will be singing as well as our children’s choir.

Rev.Lo