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OJAI MAGAZINE | SPRING 2023
EARTH TO FARM TO TABLE
Ojai Earth Day 2023
The land, the seed, the farmers … Mother Earth participates the whole way, working together hand-in-hand. What better way to celebrate Mama Earth than with the farmers who tend to her all year long? This year, Earth Day will be celebrated for the second year at the Ojai Community Farmers’ Market. The Thursday farmers’ market that launched in June 2021 is the perfect place to celebrate our Earth and the community that makes Ojai so special. Although Earth Day is April 22, the Thursday celebration occurs on the market day, Thursday, April 20. Because the Thursday market’s core values are what Earth Day is all about, it’s the ideal pairing. Let’s just say it’s “Earth Week.” Earth Day was inspired after a massive oil spill on the shores of Santa Barbara, California, in February 1969. The Clean Air Act of 1970 followed, along with the
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. Earth Day celebrations began in 1970, when United States Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin organized a national demonstration to raise awareness about environmental issues, and Earth Day was born. By the end of that year, the U.S. government had created the Environmental Protection Agency. Today, 53 years later, according to earthday.org, Earth Day is the largest secular holiday in the world, engaging more than a billion people every year in an annual celebration that draws attention to the environment and promotes conservation and sustainability. The theme for Earth Day 2023 is “Invest In
Our Planet,” a theme so successful in 2022 that it was chosen again. “In 2023 we must come together again in partnership for the planet,” says Kathleen Rogers, president of earthday.org. And that’s just what the Ojai Community Farmers’ Market does. With four co-founders who had different reasons and ideas for getting involved, the goal was to build community and become an incubator for Earth-friendly business development. Ojai Community Farmers’ Market is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit certified farmers’ market run by a passionate board of local community members who are looking to help local businesses and people by providing them a platform to thrive. These are carefully vetted farmers who don’t use spray or till, and do practice animal rotation. They are as local as possible, with the farthest farm 20 miles away. Julie Gerard, an attorney and one of the co-founders, visits every