Celebrating Love

Gaylord Nelson, a senator from Wisconsin, after a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, Calif. in January 1969, had the idea to launch a nationwide, environmentally focused teach-in on college campuses. Nelson recruited Denis Hayes to help bring the idea to the public.

To combat deforestation, Earthday.org founded the Canopy Project in 2010 and has since planted tens of millions of trees around the world.

The movement went global in 1990, after a group of environmental leaders approached Hayes to organize another major campaign for the planet, which mobilized 200 million people in 141 countries.