By Courtney McCullers
Charlotte’s largest Earth Day celebration has a new home at The Independent Picture House. We sat down with Hardin Minor, the founder of Charlotte Earth Day, and Maya Espinosa, the Charlotte hub lead for Black Girl Environmentalist. Both are UNCC alumni, graduating 40 years apart, and both are redefining who Earth Day is really for.
What was the moment the environment became personal to you?
Maya: I always felt connected to the earth. I was that child feeling the grass, looking up at the clouds, and always feeling connected. But I first started figuring out that environmentalism was for me at UNCC. I needed to pick a major. I stumbled upon a little note card that said Earth and Environmental Science. And I was like, wait, I could actually study soil, rock and land?
Unfortunately, that major is very much white-facing. Black Girl Environmentalist really help put people of color and BIPOC individuals on the map, and I honestly felt seen ever since I started following Wawa Gatheru. Black Girl Environmentalist gave me that space to feel seen and understood.
Hardin: I was on the cross country team, and we ran our workouts over hill and dale, through forests and farms and a variety of land. And at that point, Earth Day was founded in Washington, D.C., and my school was close to Washington, near Charlottesville, so the energy of the movement kind of took over our campus.
[I felt like] wow, this is our Earth. I’m running on this land that is our Earth. All of a sudden, you get just completely gobsmacked by the fact that nature gives us so much inspiration every single day.
We founded Charlotte Earth Day for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. Of course, COVID wouldn’t let us gather until 2022, when we had Charlotte Earth Day in First Ward Park.
Who do you see at Charlotte Earth Day, and who don’t you see yet?
Hardin: I saw everybody, all colors, all ages, all genders at our Charlotte Earth Day, and that’s what we intended it to be. It was and is inclusive. We want it to be all colors inclusive. We don’t want it to be white-exclusive.
Maya: I definitely agree. Last year was my first Earth Day; I tabled there. I saw an inviting space that was within the intersection of arts and kid-friendly. It’s really cool.
It’s important to get all generations involved when it comes to building a better future for our next generation. Older generations are able to tell us what went right and wrong, bringing new ideas to the youth, and the youth leadership can bring new ideas to the forefront. We have the knowledge of our elders to bring forth a newer way of thinking and a newer way of understanding what has happened and what can be done to build a better future.
We are bringing a new type of community understanding, and the younger generation is stepping up by being activists and working toward a better future. My generation and Gen Z are going to save the world, and maybe the generation after, too.
Hardin: The idea that the youth are emerging with this newfound environmental consciousness is so powerful to me.
Maya: CoGen Voices gives you a little bit more understanding of what multi-generational cohorts look like. This is a trend going on, and I want to shed light on how we can become better change makers. I have this passion for building spaces where generations can talk, collaborate, and share ideas and experiences.
What would you say to someone who doesn’t yet share our values about the environment?
Maya: What type of future do you want to see for your children? Nieces and nephews? How do you want them to live? Close your eyes and envision a future … what does that look like? How can we go toward that future?
Hardin: I’m a camper and hiker, and the most important credo is leave no trace. Leave it better than you found it. I would say, let’s leave the environment better than we found it. Let’s try to leave the air cleaner and the water more pure.
If you’re not aware, then you just don’t care. When you throw away a plastic bottle, in your mind, multiply it by 200 million people. We need to be as powerful a regenerative species as we are a consumption species.
Hardin left us with this message: taking care of our environment is taking care of each other. And that philosophy is exactly what Charlotte Earth Day is built on. Join us on Saturday, April 11, at 10am to experience it for yourself. It’s free, and it’s for everyone. Expect short-film screenings, panel discussions, a poetry response from South Carolina Poet Laureate Glenis Redmond, local exhibitors, and the Carolina Farm Trust food truck.
Learn more about the event here.