Romania to celebrate Earth Hour with volunteering, concerts
The 17th edition of Earth Hour will be celebrated on March 25, 2023, at 8:30 PM. Events connected to the celebration in Romania include volunteering, concerts, and recitals.
Earth Hour is the largest voluntary environmental action in history. People, institutions, and companies from all over the world will come together to turn off their lights and give an hour of their time to the planet in over 8,000 cities in 195 countries.
With the occasion of this year’s Earth Hour, environmentalist NGO WWF is also inviting people to give up their daily routine and spend an hour performing actions aimed at protecting nature.
WWF Romania celebrates Earth Hour 2023 with a volunteering event at the "Dimitrie Brandza" Botanical Garden in Bucharest. On Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the non-profit invites all biodiversity lovers to the Botanical Garden to (re)connect with nature. Participants will carry out maintenance activities such as pruning, raking leaves, and cleaning. Volunteers can register on the official campaign website in Romania.
“On Earth Hour 2023, we want to launch a new habit, that of giving an hour to the Earth every month! An hour in which, alone or with family and friends, we do something related to nature protection: we can cook with local ingredients, exchange clothes, plant, or clean up areas in nature. Earth Hour 2023 is an opportunity to show our care for nature and to help others understand its vital importance in our lives. If we awaken ecological awareness in people, we have a chance to stop the degradation of nature, for our well-being and for future generations. Together, we can transform a single Earth Hour into thousands and millions of impactful actions for our common home. It is important to unite our efforts and be together for the creation of a sustainable future,” said Hanny Bratu, Marketing Director of WWF Romania.
WWF Romania will also carry out other educational activities and will support and promote institutions and companies that choose to celebrate Earth Hour by symbolically turning off their lights and taking nature-friendly actions.
More than 50% of global GDP depends on the goods and services generated by natural ecosystems, the organization says. Globally, over a million species are threatened with extinction, and the health of the ecosystems we depend on is deteriorating faster than ever. In Europe, the situation is similar, with 81% of protected habitats and 63% of species having a precarious conservation status.
"The actions we should take to protect and restore degraded ecosystems are not only for nature but also to ensure the resources and conditions necessary for our future," said Camelia Ionescu, Water Program Manager at WWF Romania.
Also on March 25, between 8:30 PM and 9:30 PM, over 8,000 children and young people from the choirs and ensembles of the Cantus Mundi National Program will gather simultaneously across the country and mark Earth Hour through concerts, recitals, and musical events, under the slogan "Give nature your energy!"
Events will take place simultaneously in 64 localities from 34 counties and Bucharest: Alba, Arad, Argeș, Bacău, Bihor, Bistrița-Năsăud, Brașov, Brăila, Bucharest, Buzău, Cluj, Constanța, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Galați, Gorj, Hunedoara, Ialomița, Iași, Ilfov, Maramureș, Mureș, Neamț, Olt, Prahova, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timișoara, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vâlcea, Vrancea.
In Bucharest, Earth Hour by Cantus Mundi will be celebrated through a major musical event at the Opera Comică pentru Copii. Approximately 500 children and young people from 18 choirs invite the public in the capital to support them in their efforts to change the world for the better through music, involvement, and responsibility towards nature.
Earth Hour was first organized on March 31, 2007, in Sydney, when 2 million people and over 2,100 companies in Sydney turned off their lights for an hour, demonstrating their concern about one of the biggest current problems: accelerated climate change. Since 2008, Earth Hour has become a global movement, involving 100 million people from over 30 countries around the world.
(Photo source: Cantus Mundi)
