I often find that Earth Day comes and goes each year without much commitment from myself. Sure, I recycle, I buy local, cook from home, etc, but what Earth Day is supposed to do is ignite some change. So this year I have decided to plan ahead and make sure I make the most out of this special day for our planet. How about you? Do you take part in Earth Day? Do you have any favourite ways to celebrate?
Earth Day is held every year on April 22nd. It originated in 1970 with protests against global practices of dumping wastes, air pollution, factory pollution, diminishing wilderness/wildlife and led to the creation of the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act at the end of that year. According to the Earth Day website, “Earth Day is now a global event each year, and we believe that more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world.”
1 billion people?! Holy Cannoli! That’s a lot of people trying to activate change and I want to be one of them. You too? Here’s how.
This years Earth Day theme is End Plastic Pollution. Plastic- something we know by now is bad for the environment (Ummm… Heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?), bad for us (hello early puberty) and bad for marine life (this whale)- and yet we have such a hard time quitting it. What is one extra plastic bag from the grocery store we tell ourselves? And all of my favourite collagen supplements are shipped in plastic. We just keep consuming it! How do we stop? I have decided to take small manageable steps and incorporate new practices every month. Check out this video from Lauren Singer from Trash is For Tossers Website. She has a lot of great ideas on her website to help you reduce your waste.
Some basic things that can help you go plastic free:
- reusable produce bags
- Beeswax food storage wraps
- Glass Food storage containers
- Meal prep glass storage containers
- Stainless Steel or glass water bottles
- Glass straws
- Bamboo Toothbrushes
- Travel coffee/tea mug
You obviously do not need to buy a whole bunch of things to go plastic free but it does mean making conscious choices and an effort every time you are out shopping. Take a mug with you to get your coffee, buy produce that is loose instead of wrapped in plastic, pick the green juice in the glass bottle instead of the plastic bottle. These are simple choices that make a big difference. Try collecting your plastic for a week and see how much you alone consume. You will probably be surprised with yourself!
Going plastic free isn’t the only way to celebrate Earth Day. If you are looking for a great way to get involved I have listed twenty ways to help celebrate Mother Earth below.
Twenty Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
- Commit to a #NoPlasticJourney with me! I am taking the steps to reduce my own plastic consumption starting with refusing plastic straws, take away cups and cutlery! Pick one thing you can easily commit to each month. To make it fun you can make it into a challenge with your friends like in #19.
- Plant a tree. It actually sounds easier than it is because I have never just gone outside in Toronto and planted a tree on the side of the street. Are you in Ontario or Canada? Check out this organization and this organization.
- Walk or ride your bike instead of driving. Who wants to sit in traffic anyways? I live in the city so I find that walking or biking is faster anyways. With warm weather heading our way it is also a great way to get some exercise.
- Eat local. When you eat local your food doesn’t have to be shipped halfway around the world just to get to you.
- Eat organic. Choosing organic means you are choosing to support food that hasn’t been genetically modified or sprayed with certain pesticides.
- Make your own beauty products. So many beauty products come in plastic containers these days. Why not try your hand at making your own. You can start with this body balm!
- Compost. We are lucky enough to have a city wide compost initiative in Toronto but if you don’t, consider starting your own compost box.
- Attend a local event like this one in Toronto.
- Start your own garden. Growing your own food is so rewarding. I have a small balcony and am still able to grown containers of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuces and herbs!
- Cook a meal at home instead of ordering takeout. Takeout comes in plastic bags, with plastic forks and knives as well as styrofoam takeout containers. Skip the takeout and cook the food you have on hand!
- Spend some time in nature- go for a hike, to the ocean or lake. Go to the closest city park and spend some quality time with our planet this Earth Day.
- Switch all of your bills to e-bills. No more paper bills!
- Make an effort to understand the natural world. Are you interested in oceans? The arctic? Trees and deforestation? Make and effort to find out more about this specific issue and make an action plan on how you can help.
- Do a neighbourhood trash cleanup. Grab your neighbours and some garbage bags and get to work!
- Make some healthy recipes like this salad, this soup, this healthy dessert or this herbal tea blend.
- Start an earth day initiative at your work. You can make a plastic free challenge in your office, a team trip to help clean up garbage or have a lunch and learn about organic, quality foods.
- Teach your kids about Earth day. This is a big one. Our kids will someday be leaders and growing up with knowledge and appreciation for the planet is one of the greatest gifts we can give them.
- Spread the word! Share what you are doing for Earth day over social media to help inspire others to do the same!
- Enlist your friends in a challenge. A close circle of friends of mine are having a competition to see who can use the least amount of plastic. We are keeping all of our plastic for 2 weeks and the losers are making dinner for the winners!
- Make EVERY day Earth Day. Let’s be real, leaving Earth Day to one day a year isn’t going to make a huge dent. We need to inspire ourselves and others to commit to making changes. Maybe it is just saying no to that straw or plastic cutlery or maybe it’s buying a bike and getting rid of your car! Whatever you do, try to commit to one thing to continue on after April 22.
For more information please check out the Earth Day website as they have some great resources available and look into local events in your area. Tell me, what are your Earth Day activities?
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