It's Earth Day today and here's a grey heron coming 'down to earth' and landing in Bushy Park early today.

Earth Day is held on April 22nd – the same date every day – and was launched in 1970 when millions people took to the streets to campaign for environment reform. This year's theme is climate action.

People all around the world are encouraged to do things to benefit the environment, from recycling and planting trees to reducing our carbon footprints.

However, this year will be slightly different with people encouraged to protest virtually, in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, said: "At Earth Day Network, the health and safety of volunteers and participants in Earth Day events is our top concern.

"Amid the recent outbreak, we encourage people to rise up but to do so safely and responsibly — in many cases, that means using our voices to drive action online rather than in person."

It means the 50th anniversary of the day will be the first ever Digital Earth Day, in which participants are encouraged to share the hashtags #EarthDay2020 and #EARTHRISE "in a collective call for transformative action for our planet".

Earth Day Network will provide live coverage of the "global digital mobilisations" online, and other digital events include virtual protests, social media campaigns, online teach-ins and more. Find out more at www.earthday.org.