April 22, 1970 was the first official Earth Day. I was a senior at Guilford High School in Guilford, CT.

I was a member of the environment club, president of the debate team, on the school literary magazine, a library aide, an honors student, winner of a writing award; I still had time and energy for a morning card game of setback with Diane and another friend before the school day officially started.

I’d taken Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson’s encouragement to be part of the first Earth Day – a national grassroots effort – to heart and overcame every obstacle necessary to gain the support of my teachers and classmates.

Today, as I prepare for my daily hike, what I remember most about that first Earth Day was not only the school assembly and programs, but that my essay contest winnings bought me a plane ticket to visit my Aunt Irene in Washington, DC, where I got to participate in some of the national Earth Day events.

This may not seem like much, but consider that in the days before email and the Internet, people in communities all over the US spontaneously participated in this event. Nelson said:

“ Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.”

The fact that our school program was a resounding success is in no doubt. Years later, at my high school reunion the student who gave me the most resistance and trouble came up to me and said, “What I remember about you from back then is trying to mess up your Earth Day event.”

I still have no idea if he meant those words as an apology or if years later he still feels crushed by my unwavering dedication to a worthy goal.

Either way, Earth Day had a profound impact on both of us – and maybe the rest of our school.