Earth Day goes online for 50th anniversary

With gatherings banned and people staying close to home this Earth Day, activists have turned to an online campaign to honour half a century of environmental protection.

April 22 marks the moment in 1970 when the US public woke to the harmful effects of environmental pollution following a devastating oil spill in California, and were driven to take action.

Holding 50th anniversary celebrations amid a global health crisis has led to creative uses of technology as activists try to raise public awareness of another crisis, climate change.

Online and social-distance abiding activities across Australia are on the Earth Day website, including an app encouraging young people to become citizen scientists by photographing signs of environmental pollution around them - such as litter - and uploading it to a data map.

A cash-for-cans station will be set up in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta, offering 10 cents per drink container, while Google Street View has enabled the Melbourne Museum to offer virtual tours of the towering eucalypts and ancient ferns in its Forest Gallery

Over on Instagram, activists have aped the platform's popular fitness blog to teach people about making earth-conscious choices, using the hashtag athletesforearth.

Run by the Earth Day Network, a joint effort of US Department of State officials and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, Earth Day will stream messages from world leaders and celebrities in an 11-hour continuous film, kicking off on its website at 1am AEST.