Earth Day is especially close to our hearts… and shores… in Santa Barbara.
Living in Santa Barbara certainly keeps the Earth’s natural beauty top of mind, but it was the massive oil spill in 1969 off the coast of Santa Barbara, the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, that was as a catalyst for Earth Day. The spill was a call to arms across the nation—Congress passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, and the Environmental Protection Agency was created.
Earth Day Legacy
53 years later, Earth Day is celebrated in 192 countries. Santa Barbara hosts one of the country’s longest-running Earth Day celebrations. “The festival’s mission is to educate, inspire and take action [against climate change],” per the Community Environmental Council.
HG Does Earth Day
While there are many ways to engage with Earth Day, HGers have found their own way to celebrate! On Earth Day, several team members will use their volunteer-day PTO (one of two days given to everyone) and join Earth Day Beach Clean Ups, of which there are several—namely with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper. Their work to restore the natural beauty of Santa Barbara is integral to the community, and we’re proud to team up with Channelkeeper for clean ups and other events throughout the year.
Meanwhile, team members in both the London and Santa Barbara offices HGers set about making an urban garden of sorts, getting their hands in the dirt and planting succulents and other hardy varietals.
“Everyone in the UK office enjoyed earth day, getting down and dirty with succulents!
Good fun and even better office decor for our desks!”
-Balrit Singh, Sales Engineer, Customer Solutions
To see more photos of HGers in the dirt, check out our Instagram post.
Though “every day is Earth Day,” special events bring our community together and remind us to respect the planet each and every day.
Life At HG Insights
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