This Earth Day 2026, the Pacific Environment staff wanted to think about this significant event from a different perspective. Earth Day is a global moment to acknowledge how important the environment is to all of us and to recognize the accomplishments made to protect and conserve it — but for many of us, our interest in protecting the environment started much earlier.
For me it was books. As a young child, reading ZooBooks, DK books and even old National Geographic magazines exposed me to a whole world I never would have known existed. Learning about endangered animals and different ecosystems made me love them, and that in turn made me want to protect them. As I got older, my ambition evolved to think more about climate change and environmental justice, but it all started with being surrounded at home and at school with books.
In high school I started learning more about environmental conservation and justice. I learned about the Kesterson Wildlife Refuge close to my home in California’s San Joaquin Valley, where heavy metal contaminants like selenium from nearby agricultural runoff harmed wildlife like baby birds. It opened my eyes to the ways human activities can hurt our planet. Learning about Kesterson energized me to pursue environmental work and reading about the efforts to mitigate the contaminants gave me hope for real-world solutions.
Take a look below at some reflections from Pacific Environment staff on a particular life event or moment that made us want to pursue environmental work.
Altorice Frazier
Port Campaigner, Northeast
What pushed me into environmental work wasn’t one moment — it was lived experience. Born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised in Elizabeth, I saw early how pollution, truck traffic and neglect showed up in Black and Brown communities first and worst, long before I had language for “environmental justice.” Through organizing with parents and community leaders, I later connected those conditions to policy and power. That realization — that our communities are carrying the burden of systems we didn’t create — made it clear this work isn’t optional, it’s necessary.
David Wood
Communications Manager, Creative
Growing up in a village tucked away in rural England, my childhood was spent tearing along footpaths, bluebell woods and the River Great Ouse. Despite growing up in the countryside, I had no real language for the natural world — only that it felt fundamental to my sense of self. The bigger picture came with a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London, giving nature context, consequences and interconnection. That spark became a career in environmental communication: finding creative ways to tell the stories of the natural world and the people restoring balance and abundance to it.
Li Chenyang
Zero Waste Cities Officer
In middle school, a river near my home was heavily polluted, which first drew my attention to water protection. In university, I volunteered with a grassroots environmental NGO and began to learn more about water pollution, environmental protection and climate issues. I still vividly remember what I saw in western China: illegal factories discharging wastewater directly into the desert, forming endless black, foul-smelling ponds. Around the city I lived, landfills would catch fire in the summer heat as methane built up — firefighters hanging by safety ropes, spraying water to cool the burning waste. Waste pickers lived there too, including a five-year-old girl, burning wires to recover copper, her small figure swallowed by thick black smoke. These scenes made me realize that our current development model is not sustainable, and that we must change.
Tuyen Tran
Communications Manager, Vietnam
My journey into communications on plastic pollution began when I had the opportunity to work on a community-based plastic reduction project. As a communications advisor, I supported the development of strategies for local communities in Hội An, Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng. Beyond desk work, I joined field trainings, listened to stories from local people and saw firsthand the realities our environment faces every day. These experiences deepened my understanding of the issue and shaped my belief that communications is not just about delivering messages, it’s about driving real, meaningful change.
Jim Gamble
Senior Director, Arctic Program
I was born and raised in Alaska, where my parents established a construction company in Anchorage. In high school, I worked on a military base construction project. After clearing the site in spring and piling the vegetation into a mound, the exterior of the building was complete by early fall. Yet the partially buried plants on that mound continued growing, striving to reach the sunlight. That experience, nearly 50 years ago, profoundly shaped my view of nature’s resilience and the impact humans have on our planet. Now, with Pacific Environment, I work to prevent environmental harm and ensure that human activities are safe, clean and sustainable for all life.
What does Earth Day mean to you? What made you passionate about environmental issues? Share your feedback with us on Instagram or Bluesky to share your own experiences!
