Earth Day 2023
Earth Day is celebrated April 22, but for us at Heifer International, every day is Earth Day! Around the globe, our expert staff work with farmers as they integrate climate-smart agricultural practices on their farms to increase resilience and crop production.
From soil and water management to improved livestock?farming to sustainable energy, we aim to address the intersecting challenges of food security and a changing climate.
Everyone on the planet feels the effects of climate change, but especially people in low-income countries and those who depend on specific climate conditions and natural resources to survive: the world’s smallholder farmers.
Climate change affects agriculture and those who rely on it by weakening environmental health, undermining production, wiping out crops, killing off livestock, making it more difficult to earn a living and extending the amount of time families must go without food.
Ensuring farming households have the tools they need to protect their livelihoods — and the environment — is key to our work at Heifer International.
Read our blog to learn more about how climate change affects agriculture and how Heifer's "Caring for the Earth" approach to program development supports farmers in adapting to and mitigating the threats of the growing climate crisis.
Regenerative agriculture encourages nature to flourish. It is a restorative form of farming that promotes biodiversity with a focus on healthy, living soil. Regenerative principles recognize that every decision we make as a farmer has a consequence.
These principles are significantly different than conventional agriculture, in which the intention is often to extract the greatest productivity from the land in the short term, at the expense of soil health. Rather, the intention of regenerative agriculture is to increase the land’s ability to heal and restore itself, so the productivity below the soil surface remains abundant.
By working alongside the environment, we strengthen the land’s ability to respond to shocks presented by climate change.
Read our blog to learn how educating farmers on regenerative practices can improve the lives of the people in our communities and the long-term health of our planet.
领英推荐
Maty Tine earns her living in Senegal growing crops, using the harvests to feed her family and selling the surplus, when she has it, for income.
Rain patterns have shifted in the dry, Sahelian region where Maty lives, and she and other?farmers are having to adapt. Heifer and partners are helping the area’s?farmers manage the changes, providing training, short-cycle seeds and weather information through a text and voice.?
Of the project’s impacts, however, the most significant may be equipping?farmers like Maty — once bound by the whims of the weather — to take an active role in the fight against the climate crisis.
Through the project, Maty has taken the mic as a radio reporter conveying information on agriculture and the environment, discussing topics like greenhouse gases and avoiding the cutting down of trees.
In her role, Maty is recouping some of what she wishes she would have achieved in her youth — becoming an environmental leader and local celebrity in the process.
Doing your part for the planet doesn’t have to be hard. You can make a big impact by making small changes in your everyday life.
Easy Changes that Have a Big Impact
From ways to teach your children about caring for the Earth to easy ideas for your backyard, learn how you can celebrate Earth Day and do your part.
We challenge you to an Earth Day quiz! Test your knowledge of our planet and the ways we can care for it. Get all five questions right and grow the tree!
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