A movie on kids' efforts to save the planet shows how childhood lessons endure beyond Earth Day

Boston Globe

22-04-2025

For many, it goes far beyond a single day of recognition. There are organizations around us that live and breathe sustainability — dedicating their time to educate and take action to preserve and protect our surroundings and planet.
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'You can drive around almost any town or city and see trash scattered on the sidewalks. (Earth Day) is about educating and inspiring people to take some action every day to change behaviors," said Neil Rhein, founder of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful, a group launched in 2014 with over three dozen participating towns and cities across the Bay State.
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A changing world
Fast forward nearly 30 years since that childhood Earth Day project and I'm fortunate to work in a field closely tied to the health of our environment, especially as our atmosphere and oceans continue to change for the worse as we see more extreme weather.
It sure is changing. Human-induced global warming has driven the average temperature
Over the past decades, sea levels have increased throughout the world, including
The increase in global sea levels compared to the 1993-2008 average.
NOAA
And the data shows just how warm our planet has become compared to the century average.
A look at the global average temperature change compared to the 100-year average (1901-2001).
NOAA
'Doing something about it' with trash monsters
The good news is that year-over-year, the amount of attention given and action taken to help combat our changing Earth has increased — and many are happening right around us.
Keep Massachusetts Beautiful
Chatting with Rhein recently was eye-opening. After constantly seeing roadway litter piling up in his neighborhood, one day in 2008, he decided to organize the first litter collection journey in Mansfield, Mass. Seventeen years later, he's developed Keep Massachusetts Beautiful as a leading statewide cleanup initiative with one goal in mind — leaving his state a cleaner and greener place to live, work, and play.
'Our network of 42 local chapters blankets the state monthly and seasonally, picking up litter and recycling,' said Rhein. 'Ninety-nine percent of people are bothered by litter and trash, it comes down to civic pride, and you should do something about it.'
Keep Massachusetts Beautiful volunteers clean up near the starting line in Hopkinton a few days before the Boston Marathon.
KMB
The depth of passion to keep the Earth healthy and habitable runs deep. . One example is the Framingham chapter, where Patrick St. Pierre, a member of Keep Framingham Beautiful, is bringing the story of the Save the Earth Club to life in a film by the same name highlighting two local elementary school students' efforts to take action with their classmates to save our planet from trash and pollution.
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'The goal is to incept the idea of saving the Earth at an early age so we don't have to reteach kids to care about their actions,' said St. Pierre. 'This short movie shows how to fight 'trash monsters' with the help of community, with a call to action for kids to start their own Save the Earth Club to help curb increasing environmental issues and climate change.'
The film is expected to come out in the fall.
Patrick St. Pierre designed the artwork for the upcoming short movie on Save to Earth Club, which was started by a pair of local elementary students trying to build awareness and take action to protect the planet.
Patrick St. Pierre
Rhode Island Clean Water Association
The Rhode Island Clean Water Association (RICWA) is a non-profit emphasizing non-polluted water. The NPO holds multiple events a year to spread awareness and take action to keep water clean for consumption and for vegetation and agricultural use. They're hosting an Earth Day clean-up toward
The New Hampshire Forest Society
I thought this group was very unique. A non-profit focused on keeping the forests of New Hampshire protected and flourishing. New Hampshire is one of the nicest wooded states across the country and the 10,000-plus members of the Forest Society are dedicated to protecting the roughly 1 million acres of forest space across the state.
Advocating for local and statewide policies, holding clean-ups, spreading information, and promoting good land use are
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'At the end of the day, you can do a little to save a lot,' said Rhein.
Ken Mahan can be reached at