Windiest Picnic: Columbus, GA

The picnickers at the Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center in Columbus, Ga., endured winds of around 35 mph on Earth Day. An outdoor movie showing was almost foiled due to the wind, which collapsed the screen the first time it went up.

Most Wild Animals at a Picnic: Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

These students from Olasiti Primary School had quite an Earth Day adventure. On a Picnic for the Planet trip to Tarangire National Park, the students spotted elephants, wild dogs and even lions!

Coldest Picnic: Palmer Research Station, Antarctica

Once again the folks at the Palmer Research Station held a Picnic for the Planet on one of the coldest spots on the planet: Antarctica. Temperatures this time of year hover around 0 degrees Celcius, but that didn’t stop Janice O’Reilly, Perri Barbour, Eddie Quintanilla and Gregorio Campo from enjoying some ice cream!

Hottest Picnic: Salt Lake City

Ok, it may not have been the hottest picnic, but it was hot for them! A suburb of Salt Lake City hit 86 degrees Fahrenheit  – that beat the previous record set in 1934 by three degrees!

Most Yoga at a Picnic: Depok, Indonesia

Picnickers in Indonesia participated in some early morning senam, an Indonesian version of yoga. They also planted trees and participated in a jungle hike before having a picnic lunch.

Most Picnic Tables at a Picnic: Birmingham, Alabama

The nearly 2,000 picnickers at the Picnic for the Planet in Alabama enjoyed checking out more than 50 picnic tables decorated by local businesses. After the event, the benches will be displayed around the city.

Biggest Battle at a Picnic: New Haven, CT

Whose cuisine reigned supreme?  On Earth Day the answer is chef Bun Lai of Miya’s Sushi  who went head-to-head with Jason Sobocinski of Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro and the Cooking Channel show “The Big Cheese” in a 15-minute cooking battle beets, goat cheese and baguettes.

Most Invasives Pulled at a Picnic:  Baraboo Hills, Wisconsin

Picnickers in Wisconsin earned their lunch by pulling 20 bags of garlic mustard. This invasive species spreads rapidly and, if left unchecked, can displace most native wildflowers and other herbaceous species within 10 years.

Best Free Snack — Alexandria, Va.

Runners in the Pacers’ GW Parkway Classic 10-miler had something yummy to look forward to at the end of the race – Nature Conservancy logo cookies provided by Bittersweet Catering.

Wettest Picnic – Three-Way Tie: Palmyra Atoll, Sargasso Sea and New York City

All 12 residents of Palmyra Atoll (including 4 from a visiting vessel) attended this “floating” Picnic for the Planet.

Students and staff aboard the Corwith Cramer held a Picnic for the Planet in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

But the hero award in this category goes to the picnickers in New York City who, despite 2.5 inches of rain and temperatures in the 40s, were in great spirits.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the 2012 Picnic for the Planet. And don’t forget: it’s not too late to share your photos!

[Images: Georgia - Jason Crawley; Tanzania - Marunda/Flickr; Antarctica – Eddie Quintanilla; Utah – Bob Rampton; Indonesia – CJHudlow/Flickr; Alabama – Larry O. Gay; New Haven – Kate Frazer/TNC; Wisconsin – Flickr/CateH2010; Alexandria – Courtesy of Bittersweet Catering; Palmyra – Courtesy of Palmyra Station; Sargasso Sea – Nicholas Steinbauer; New York – Axel Baumann/TNC.

1. Philips unveils a new LED light bulb with a 20-year lifespan. (Discovery News)
2. Wearable planters turn live plants into jewelry. (TreeHugger)
3. Operation: find that albino orca! (Huffington Post Green)
4. 30 biodiversity hotspots identified in the Mediterranean. (Guardian)
5. Vertical gardens help bring greenery to cities. (The Daily Green)

1. In Birmingham, Alabama, more than 629 picnickers got their grub on at Railroad Park.  (al.com)
2. Andrea Mitchell talks Earth Day with our lead scientist, Sanjayan.  (MSNBC)
3. Visitors to Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium took the Picnic for the Planet world record challenge.  (CBS Chicago)
4. On Earth Day, did you appreciate the value of small actions?  (The Huffington Post)
5. Did you also focus on people?  (Christian Science Monitor)

1. Have we told you we’re having a Picnic for the Planet? Find out how you can get involved. (Picnic for the Planet)
2. Check out these 10 fun Earth Day activities for kids. (Huffington Post)
3. Some influential green bloggers share their Earth Day wishes. (TreeHugger)
4. Here are 15 Earth Day tips that really make a difference. (The Daily Green)
5. Our Steph Wear was featured on an NBC Nightly News story about how corals save lives. (msnbc.com)

1. An electric DeLorean is in the works (time travel not included).  (EcoGeek)
2. Here’s more on the connection between climate change and wacky weather.  (DotEarth)
3. A new study says shrinking numbers of large predators wreak havoc on forest ecosystems. (YaleE360)
4. Might want to double-check– are you buying illegally harvested wood?  (Mongabay)
5. Research links pesticides to declining bee populations.  (Grist)

1. We’re going birding… 125 million years into the past. (Wired Science)
2. Hair loss affects middle-aged men and now polar bears? (Huffington Post Green)
3. Conservation milestone: the world’s most endangered ducks hatch. (BBC)
4. Brooks unveils super duper green running shoe. (TreeHugger)
5. Since Easter eggs are still on the brain, here’s a guide to urban chickening. (Mother Nature Network)

1. Meet Peter Kareiva, one unconventional conservationist.  (Greenwire)
2. If it journeyed across the Atlantic today, the Titanic would encounter more icebergs than it did in 1912.  (Los Angeles Times)
3. Is your favorite restaurant really serving “sustainable” and/or “organic” food?  (Grist)
4. Look at this cute little albino baby albatross!  (Treehugger)
5. Climate change=more infectious diseases?!  (Huffington Post Green)

1. New research shows that our oceans have been heating up for more than 100 years.  (Mongabay)
2. Denmark plans to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2050.  (EcoGeek)
3. Do social networks spur greener behavior?  (GreenBiz)
4. Baby bald eagle cam!  (Treehugger)
5. A new study shows that some corals are more resilient to increased ocean acidification.  (YaleE360)

Jensen Montambault is a conservation scientist with The Nature Conservancy and mother of two preschool aged daughters. Check back for more stories and tips from her about raising kids to become nature lovers.

Raising a young conservationist is a whole lot more than making bird feeders out of used plastic bottles and foisting them on grandparents and unsuspecting neighbors. It’s an agreement to live with nature like an emotional equal, as part of the family.

Our four year old, for example, loves “baby pine cones.” I mean LOVES them. She brings the small hemlock cones scattered around our yard into the house by the fistful, cradles them, sings them lullabies and tucks them into bed.

But this bucolic vision ended the morning there was no space to make breakfast because the entire kitchen counter was covered in baby pine cones. It was too much, even for two parent-ecologists like us who usually appreciate locally-sourced decor.

“You can’t bring in any more pine cones,” her father told her.

Tears, real tears, gushed. I had to throw the cat a life jacket before flipping the eggs.

“But I can’t let them sleep outside,” wailed the young conservationist. “They will be cold and lonely.”

Her dad tried the logic angle: “If you fill up the house with baby pine cones there won’t be any place for us to sleep and then we will be the ones sleeping out in the cold.”

“We have a tent,” countered the young conservationist.

He tried the scientific method: “Hemlocks are ‘r-selectors,’ which means they make countless pine cones so that even if some get eaten or some wash or rot away, some will make it to be adult trees. There is no way you can rescue them all.”

“Not these baby pine cones! I can count them all.” The young conservationist raced outside and planted herself on the walkway. Her dad joined her around two-hundred to try the habitat approach. “Honey, we like to live in the house, but the pine cones like to live out here. It’s where they have everything they need to grow.”

“This is their house?” wondered the young conservationist. “But it is muddy.” We had a wet, heavy late February snow. Icy patches hung on grimly to the north of the deck.

“Besides,” said her dad, “by the time you finish counting these pine cones, the tree will make more. It’s a renewable resource.” The young conservationist slowly came inside.

That night, after her dad went to put her one-year-old sister to bed, the young conservationist and I fixed her lunch for the next day. She pulled out a handful of baby pine cones she had been hoarding in her lunch box.

1. Check out some cool pictures of Earth Hour celebrations around the globe. (Guardian)
2. An Indian man has planted a 1,360 acre forest, see how long it took him. (TreeHugger)
3. Scientists have cloned elm trees that survived epidemics of Dutch elm disease. (Yale e360)
4. Do you live near any of America’s top 10 most polluted waterways? (Mother Jones)
5. One country’s youth have a “startling” demand for low carbon goods. Find out where. (BusinessGreen)