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Dear Friend,

Earth Day is almost here! At Earth Island Institute, we’re taking a moment to reflect and renew our commitments to this beautiful planet we all share. As we celebrate and look to the future, we’re happy to share one way you can protect your own future:making your will. Help your loved ones with a plan for your assets. We’ve partnered with FreeWill to help you through the process in just 20 minutes. You can even build a legacy that supports our work for generations to come through a planned gift to Earth Island in your will. Let’s make this Earth Day a lifelong promise to the planet and all we love.

In community,

Your Friends at Earth Island Institute
Photo by Ron Lach / Pexels.

The US Department of Agriculture has unexpectedly canceled thePatrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Programfor Fiscal Year 2025, a critical source of funding for local foods, nutrition education, and school gardens since 2013. This decision threatens essential farm-to-school programs nationwide, impacting children, families, educators, and farmers. TheMississippi Farm to School Networkurges you to use the National Farm to School Network'sAction Alertto contact your policymakers and ask them to oppose this decision. Sign and share the National Farm to School Network'spetitionurging USDA to restore funding. Your support is crucial. Share this with schools, districts, and organizations impacted by this loss.
Photo courtesy of Mississippi Farm to School Network.

Speak Up!

Earth Island’s work to hold corporations accountable for their role in the greenwashing of plastic continues to have traction and gain momentum. On March 18, the District of Columbia Superior Court greenlighted our 2024lawsuit against Danone Waters of Americafor false and deceptive marketing by representing evian bottled water as “natural” and “sustainable,” despite the presence of microplastics and bisphenol-A (BPA). The lawsuit, brought by Earth Island’sPlastic Pollution Coalition(PPC) in 2024, also argues that evian’s use of plastic packaging contributes significantly to plastic pollution. This month, PPC fileda similar lawsuit against PepsiCo, Inc.’smarketing of its Aquafina bottled water and general contribution to the plastic pollution crisis.
Image by Emilian Robert Vicol.

Earth Island’sThe Capacity Collaborativehas joined a coalition of nonprofits and cities represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Public Rights Project in a lawsuit against the federal government over its unlawful freeze of legally-binding grant agreements. This freeze is blocking critical environmental work nationwide, including everything from energy efficiency to public health programs. The coalition has filed for a preliminary injunction to restore these funds while the case proceeds, with a court hearing set for April 23. Read more about the lawsuithereand about The Capacity Collaborative’s workhere.
Photo byOlichel/Freerange Stock.

Just days before the two last captive orcas in France were to be flown to the terrible Loro Parque Zoo concrete tanks in Spain, the transfer was halted. The Spanish government’s scientific agency determined thatn the zoo’s facilities were inadequate: too small and too shallow for orcas. TheInternational Marine Mammal Projecthas been making the case to the French government for the past year that Loro Parque is an animal welfare nightmare. Wikie and Keijo will remain in France until a suitable option is located, highly likely to a seaside sanctuary. Learn more about the orcas’ plighthere.
Photo by Olivia Thévoz /Wikie's Gallery.

Ethical Travelerhas long promoted the idea that travelers can “vote with their wings.” Though its earliest efforts included tourism boycotts of countries committing human rights violations, the project soon substituted the carrot for the stick. Since 2006, Ethical Traveler has published a “Ten Best” list of countries in the developing world that abound in beauty, and are committed to best practices in social welfare, environmental protection, and animal rights. Its 2025 list, published in March, Includes (in alphabetical order): Barbados; Botswana; Cabo Verde; Chile; Costa Rica; Dominica; Fiji; Palau; Panama; Uruguay; (runner up - Tuvalu).

By visiting these nations we support, encourage and inspire them to keep up their good work. Learn morehere.
Barbados beachside photo byTom Jur, Unsplash.

Shark Stewardsis urging the US Fish and Wildlife Service to increase protection for the critically endangered oceanic whitetip shark under the Endangered Species Act. These sharks have suffered most from overfishing and the global shark fin trade, and have historically been the highest killed as bycatch. Only about 2 percent of their original population remains in the Pacific Ocean today. Shark Stewards is also urging the delegates to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to list these sharks under the highest level of trade protection, Appendix I, during its conference in Uzbekistan in November 2025.Learn moreand add voice your support for the sharks.
Photo of ocean whitetip shark courtesy of Shark Stewards.

JoinWomen’s Earth Alliance(WEA) and Black Girl Environmentalist on Thursday, April 24 at 1p.m / 4 p.m. ET for a powerful virtual event featuring Wawa Gatheru of Black Girl Environmentalist and Tashanda Giles-Jones and Jada Alexander of WEA’s Black Girls Green Futures program. Moderated by WEA’s Kiya Leake, this conversation will explore how Black women and youth are dismantling systemic barriers, shifting narratives, and creating lasting pathways for leadership in the environmental movement.RSVP nowto be part of this vital conversation on how to ensure Black leaders not only enter the movement — but shape its future.

RSVP

Join UC Berkeley’s Student Environmental Resource Center (SERC) for an Earth Week conversation on how empowering individuals can create real climate impact on April 21 at the Genetics and Plant Biology Building Room 100 on the university campus. The panel discussion — which will explore behavior-based carbon tracking, equity-driven solutions, and the role of universities in driving change — will feature experts, including Earth Island Board member and Project Climate Director Ken Alex, ASUC Eco Senator China Duff, Director of Berkeley Carbon Trading Project Barbara Haya, President of Telegraph for the People Bryce Miller, and ESPM Professor Matthew Potts. Register for the eventhere.

Register

Join us for at the David Brower Center in Berkeley, California, on April 19 for this year’sWild and Scenic Film Festival. The one-day festival will feature films that explore nature, community activism, adventure, conservation, water, energy and climate change, wildlife, environmental justice, agriculture, and more. The festival also includes a freeHome Electrification Fairin the afternoon. IslandWire readers can get a $5 discount on tickets by using the codeCCLALA. All proceeds go to support the work of Citizens Climate Lobby.

Get Tickets

William Powers, co-leader of Earth Island’s Living Well Collaborative, was recently interviewed onPeace Talks Radioabout his work in Chiapas, Mexico, where he served as a “human-shield” against state violence. The show was broadcast on 60 radio stations in the United States. In a separate Local Future podcast titled “Living Simply, Slowly & More Intentionally,” aired earlier this year, he discussed Living Well Collaborative’s efforts to support local ecological community in Samaipata, Bolivia. Listen in.

Listen