'Let's make every day Earth Day'

TIFFIN — The United States has been celebrating Earth Day since 1970, 55 years later, Seneca County native Toni Serwin shared her memory of Earth Day 1972. Back then, Serwin was in the first grade at Bloomville Elementary School and recalls a warm, spring afternoon when she rushed home after school after being given a small pine sapling, where her grandfather helped her plant her sprout. "I could barely contain my excitement as my grandfather smiled and led me to the garage to gather the items we needed for my homework project," she said. "I carefully handled the delicate little tree; its fragile roots dangling as I lifted it from its packaging." The memory of planting her special tree is a fond one for Serwin. Though she moved several times before graduating from Tiffin-Columbian high school, the tree moved with her. When she moved to Florida, the tree stayed behind. During a trip to visit family in 2021, she was able to return to her old house in Tiffin to also visit her tree. "I recall mentally preparing myself to be strong if it wasn't there," Serwin said. "I knew it would have been a temptation for a lumberjack in search of a perfect Christmas tree." But 50 years after she had planted it, there was her tree, mighty and much taller than her. "I felt my heart begin to race with excitement as I approached the beautiful tree," she continued. "The lowest branch was a few feet above my head. The roots around the base of it felt grounding under my bare feet. I gazed upward and was totally awestruck at how I felt both sheltered and comforted under the canopy of branches reaching ever so high." She remembers she was overcome with a multitude of emotions about how meaningful Earth Day and the tree was to her. What was once a simple 'twig' had grown to become so much more all because she had chosen to plant it and take care of it. Serwin believes that it's important to take care of those who may not be able to do it for themselves, saying, "Plant seeds of kindness wherever you go and please plant more trees. We need to take action to assist Mother Earth as she desperately strives to heal herself from the thoughtless damage human not-so-kind has done. Together we can and will make a difference for ourselves and future generations to come." Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22 as a reminder to take care of the Earth. "Let's make every day Earth Day," she concluded.