Linda Crotta Brennan

2018 at PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM in Providence, Rhode Island, USA

LINDA FUELS CONSERVATION AT PROVIDENCE ATHENAEUM

This year, Linda Crotta Brennan's Author for Earth Day visit was to the Providence Athenaeum in Rhode Island, where a lively group of young writers cooked up a story full of action and adventure. The children voted to make their conservation donation to the Jane Goodall Institute.

2017 at JOHN F. HORGAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL in West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA

LINDA GIVES KIDS A CHOICE AT JOHN F. HORGAN

I had a spectacular Author for Earth Day visit with Mrs. Winslow and Mrs. Longo's second graders at Horgan Elementary School in West Warwick, RI. The students carefully considered the five organizations that I had suggested for my donation. On the day of my visit, they voted for the Nature Conservancy as the recipient of our gift.

We also discussed creating Earth Day stories about a character who has an environmental problem they need to solve. I left templates for creating Earth Day stories with their teachers. The students were engaged and attentive and asked marvelous questions about writing both fiction and nonfiction. They will surely be among our future writers and environmentalists.

2016 at JOHNSON AND WALES UNIVERSITY in Providence, Rhode Island USA

LINDA CONNECTS WITH STUDENTS AT JOHNSON AND WALES

As my Author for Earth Day event, I took part in a "Caring for the Environment Panel" at Johnson & Wales University. Student Natasha Martinez moderated the panel, which began with my power point presentation on the history of Earth Day, WHEN RIVERS BURNED: THE EARTH DAY STORY. Then Diana Brennan, environmental scientist and photographer, and my daughter, took the floor. Johnson & Wales student Ruth Solomon also took part, talking about the student environmental organization, SASS (Student Activists Supporting Sustainability), and its impact on campus.

A diverse group of students (including one from Nepal) and faculty joined in the discussion, asking challenging questions (Is there a link between racism and the environment? What can we do about all the trash on Mount Everest?) and seeking new avenues for moving forward in caring for our world. (We need to go beyond education and information and encourage people to experience the environment!)

In the spirit of thinking globally and acting locally, the group voted to donate my speaking fee to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island.

2015 at Paine School in Foster, Rhode Island USA

LINDA GIVES BACK AT PAINE

I had a great time with the fifth graders at Captain Isaac Paine Elementary, talking about When Rivers Burned: The Earth Day Story. We discussed the conditions that led to the first Earth Day: Birds dying from DDT, smog that sickened thousands, oil spills, and burning rivers. Then we talked about the efforts of two men, Senator Gaylord Nelson and college student Denis Hayes, to create the first Earth Day and what a difference that made. Finally, the students shared what they will be doing to celebrate Earth Day this year. Many of them were cleaning up trash. Once student talked about her and her mother's efforts to lobby the statehouse on behalf of environmental issues.

The students were a rapt audience and asked very thoughtful questions.

After much research and deliberation, they chose the Ocean Conservancy as the recipient of my donation. Attached is a photo that their teacher, Laurie Murphy, took of my visit. As always, it's a joy to take part in the Authors for Earth Day program!

2013 at Myron J. Francis Elementary School in Rumford, Rhode Island USA

LINDA CELEBRATES EARTH DAY AT MYRON J. FRANCIS

The students at Myron J. Francis Elementary school were enthusiastic participants in my program. After much research and discussion, they decided to donate my fee to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, www.asri.org where it will be used to protect the state's wilderness areas, provide environmental education, and provide a voice for ecology in the state house.

With a group of parents and students, we talked about how pollution threatened our environment before the first Earth Day. How Senator Gaylord Nelson came up with the idea for an "environmental teach-in," and how he asked a college student named Denis Hayes to run it. Then we discussed how the first Earth Day was the largest demonstration in American history, and how it gave birth to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and much more. By participating in the Authors for Earth Day program, the students were continuing the important fight to protect our environment.