Couple: 1st Earth Day changed their lives
Carol and Rick Collier pose for a previous photo as they hike the Appalachian Trail. The couple reminisced about participating in the first Earth Day as the movement’s 50th anniversary approaches.
AMBLER » The 50th anniversary of Earth Day brought back fond memories for Ambler residents Rick and Carol Collier.
The couple were college freshmen during the inaugural event. He was at Ursinus College in Collegeville and she was at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
“I think my first Earth Day was longer than a day,” Rick said. “I think it extended through the weekend and there were all kinds of activities ... and it seemed to get bigger as time went on.”
Rick, 68, recalled participating in several outings including tree planting and organized cleanups that were designed as outreach opportunities for area students.
Approximately 265 miles north of the Collegeville school, Carol, 69, said she watched “movies about the [1969] Santa Barbara Oil Spill” and listened to “lectures” discussing various ecological topics during the Earth Day programs.
“I remember going to classes, and I remember doing all these Earth Day activities that were planned,” Carol said. “It was the thing to do.”
Twenty million people took part in the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, according to earthday.org. The idea originated from Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), who saw college students’ active participation in the “anti-war movement,” and wanted to generate interest in air and water pollution.
In order to draw more participants, the event was scheduled
in late April because it fell “between spring break and final exams,” according to the event’s website.
The idea was first pitched as “campus sit-ins,” according to the movement’s website. However, with bipartisan support from co-chair Sen. Pete McCloskey (R-CA), and with help from activist Denis Hayes, they expanded outreach to a myriad of organizations nationwide.
Rick Collier also attributed Earth Day’s popularity to the number of political and environmental causes that college students were already interested in. They included the Kent State shootings, the assassination of then-presidential candidate Robert Kennedy as well as legislation surrounding water and air quality issues. The Vietnam War was a topic for protest to many of their generation.
“We were all looking for a cause that we could feel good about instead of fighting a war and being worried about the draft,” he said.
For Rick, he said he believed Earth Day was a cause people could get behind.
“This was, I think, a positive thing we wanted to jump into and be part of a movement that had just gotten started,” he recalled.
Earth Day’s popularity led to policy changes at the federal level, according to the movement’s website. The United States Environmental Protection Agency was established and several pieces of legislation were passed including the National Environmental Education Act and the Clean Air Act.
About one billion in more than 190 countries participate in Earth Day each year, according to the event’s website.
As her freshman year was winding down, Carol said that participating in the first Earth Day affirmed her passion for environmental studies.
“I have to say it was something that changed my life and my direction,” she said.
Rick and Carol met while attending graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania. Rick now works in consulting and Carol has held high ranking positions within the Academy of Natural Sciences and Drexel University. Both continue to volunteer with environmental organizations across the Philadelphia area.
“So getting hooked on ecology and the environment back when we were very formidable as young college students has actually made our careers and our lives,” Rick said.