Niagara Falls, the world’s fastest moving and powerful waterfalls, straddling the US – Canada border, was illuminated in green and blue, the colors of the historic Save Soil movement on May 21st, 2022 between 10:30 – 11:00 pm ET.
In the midst of thunder, mist and rain, the illumination not only remained spectacular, but created an enchanting ambience. With 168,000 cubic meters flowing through the falls every minute, the green and blue hues looked radiant. The renowned photographer who has worked extensively with National Geographic, John Stanmeyer took stunning photographs of the cascading waterfalls. He said, “I love the mystic moving mist cloud of greenness even as a still image, it was magical. The colors were so vivid.”
Over a hundred volunteers gathered to witness this breathtaking event. Shelly Candel shared, “The heavy rains did not dampen any plans or our spirit. I will always remember the beautiful children who came with their families, dancing gracefully, having fun and never complaining about anything, not even the rain.”
An eight grade student, Sadhika shared, “I was so glad to be a part of the event, dancing, singing and drumming through the storm, looking at the weather as tears of mother earth, we had a good time creating awareness for the movement.”
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has stated that 52% of the world’s soils are degraded. Moreover, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that all of the world’s topsoil could become extinct in 60 years. By 2045, food production may drop by 40% as the population crosses 9.3 billion.
The Save Soil movement is an effort to draw the attention and support of 3.5 billion people worldwide to inspire policy-driven changes to combat soil extinction. The movement aims to activate soil revitalization strategies, namely securing soil quality by raising the minimum requirement of organic content in soil to 3-6%.
Save Soil is a global movement to address the soil crisis, bringing together people from around the world to stand up for Soil Health, and supporting leaders of all nations to institute national policies and actions toward increasing the organic content in cultivable Soil.
