Geodiversity Day 2026: As It Happened

With people celebrating International Geodiversity Day all around the world, we wanted to bring you a summary of just some of the events and celebrations happening globally this October 6th. Of course, there is much more happening than these events, and you can find more information on our Events page.

To engage the public with their local geodiversity in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Dr Shiv Singh Rathore organised a geological walk, starting at the Mehrangarh Fort. It was very well attended:

In Australia, the Tasmanian Government's Department of Natural Resources and Environment chose Geodiversity Day to launch the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Geodiversity Conservation Strategy 2026-36. In launching the Strategy, Jason Jacobi, Secretary for the Department, said "A key goal of the Strategy is to increase community awareness of, and engagement with, geodiversity in the TWWHA. In doing so, it draws attention not only to the long history of this island and the events that shaped its iconic wilderness landscapes, but also the close relations between geodiversity and cultural

landscapes, and between geodiversity and biodiversity."

In Bangladesh, Rajib Kumar Saha had an article published in the Daily Star newspaper, in which he encourages people to recognise the value of geodiversity within the country: "For Bangladesh, a country whose entire existence is negotiated with rivers, deltas, coasts, and hills, this day should not pass as another item on the calendar. It should mark a time when we name something we have always lived with but rarely spoken about: geodiversity."

In the United Kingdom, the Chief Scientist of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, David Stone, published an article that reflects on this year's theme - Geodiversity On Our Doorstep: "Geodiversity is an integral part of nature, with a hugely important role to play in nature conservation and restoration. It is an essential part of the work of the statutory nature conservation bodies, and has been a key and world-leading component of statutory nature conservation in Great Britain since 1949."

In Guatemala, students on the University geology course presented a photography exhibition on some of the geologically interesting sites within the country:

At the Charnwood Forest aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, they have released a new animation that tells the geological story of Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood, helping to share the geodiversity of the Geopark with an even broader audience:

In the Republic of Ireland, the Geological Survey of Ireland chose IGD to launch their Geological Heritage Kerry Audit Report. The publication of the geoheritage County Geological Heritage Sites (CGS) dataset for Kerry will support recognising the role of geodiversity in providing humanity with an incredible wealth of goods and services that bring benefits to society.