User:Created by Living Sky/sandbox

Earth Allegiance is Dedicated to the Proposition that All Creatures are Created Equal

Earth Allegiance is a literary work written by North American Artist/Author, Cherl Crews, Founder of Living Sky Foundation. This global pledge was first created in 2001 and can be recited to the tune of the American Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the Earth

Of our Beloved Solar System

And to All of her Creatures

For Here they Dwell

One Planet United in Harmony

With Universal Love and Compassion For All

There have been two published, visual works of the Earth Allegiance. The first was initiated as a community art project involving students of Hearthstone School and Belle Meade School in the rural, farming community of Sperryville, Virginia located at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the middle entrance to the Shenandoah National Park in the Piedmont Region of Virginia. The project was created as an Earth Day commemoration to emphasize the urgent need for continued environmental and wildlife conservation for ALL life forms, many of which are already endangered or on the verge of extinction. It is also intended to recognize and support the National Park Service, as well as other countless organizations and individuals in our communities that dedicate efforts to preserving and protecting nature. The Mural was donated to the Shenandoah National Park in 2011 for the 75th Anniversary of the Parks existence where it was housed for two years before being returned to it's home in Rappahannock County, VA

Illustrated in the mural are only several of the over 500 known or likely known species native to the Shenandoah National Park and surrounding areas which can be found listed by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Information Service listed in the Biota of Virginia Wildlife Database as a “Concern for Conservation”  It is encouraged that others around the globe to come together in celebration and commitment and use the Earth Allegiance project as a template to illustrate the myriad of endangered species native to their own parks and backyards.

The second rendition of Earth Allegiance was created as a block print, illustrated by Virginia based artists/printmakers, Neil and Kerry Stavely of Horse and Hare Design in 2015. The more popular block print version has been received around the globe, translated into several different languages.