Photo Essay: Celebrating Earth Day 2020

The COVID-19 stay-at-home order in Hawaii, which began at the end March, has halted all non-essential activities both indoors and outdoors. As we logged more and more hours staying-at-home, many of us have come to realize how much we enjoy being outside in nature and how we miss everyday activities immensely. In Hawaii, not being able to enjoy the outdoors as we have done before feels especially costly. Most recently, the state even banned walking or running on beaches.
This Earth Day, even if we can’t be outside celebrating the wonders of Hawaii’s natural world, we can still do it through photographs and videos or simply by going out to your backyard to take in the outdoors. I encourage everyone to take some time today or this week to look around and appreciate the beautiful world we live in. Here are a few photographs that I have taken over the years. I hope that as you view these images, your mind will be transported outside the confines of your home, knowing that we can still celebrate Earth Day together, even if we’re physically apart.