December 11 is Mountain Day and refers to three unrelated events: (1) a student celebration in some colleges in which classes are cancelled and the student body heads to the mountains or a park, (2) International Mountain Day, established by the UN in 2003 and (3) Mountain Day, a national holiday in Japan as of 2016.

International Mountain Day is under the auspicious of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Did you know that 6 of the 20 most important food crops originate in mountains, such as potatoes, maize, barley, apples and tomatoes? To see results of the 2019 Mountain Photo and Recipe Contest, click here.

The 2019 International Mountain Day theme is “Mountains Matter for Youth.” This is the official poster. ATTENTION TEACHERS: Find 62 pages of teaching material about mountains for ages 5-12 and 11-15 here.