10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day at Home

There’s something extra special about Earth Day this year.

Today marks the 50^th anniversary of the holiday. Time flies, doesn’t it!

This Earth Day is also a little different because we won’t be celebrating it with parades or public gatherings.

But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take this day to celebrate Mother Nature and show our support for protecting the environment. After all, the intent of this holiday was to raise awareness about our role in protecting the environment. We don’t need a public gathering to do that!

There’s a surprising number of things you can do from home that can help save the earth.

Here’s a list of ten ideas to get you started.

1. Plant a tree. Trees give us oxygen, life, and provide a home
   for birds and other creatures.
   
   
   
   
2. Clean up litter. Make sure you’ve got your gloves on, and walk
   through your neighborhood picking up trash. Take extra safety precautions like
   picking up items with a trash picker tool or a Grabber Reach tool to avoid
   having direct contact with the items.
   
   
   
   
3. Go for a walk. Practice social distancing and go outside to
   show your appreciation of nature.
   
   
   
   
4. Look for ways to ditch your plastic habit. Plastic is
   everywhere, and sadly, every piece of plastic ever made still exists. It’s
   polluting our waterways and endangering the ocean. It’s time to limit or
   eliminate the use of plastic as much as possible.
   
   
   
   Walk around your home and identify ways to stop using plastic. Ditch single-use
   water bottles in favor of filling up 5-gallon jugs at a water store. Don’t buy
   produce or snacks in plastic or clamshells.
   
   
   
   Support brands that minimize plastic or use none at all. Our favorite new
   discovery is a laundry detergent called Earth Breeze. The detergent
   comes in sheets that resemble dryer sheets. You throw them directly in your
   washing machine, and your clothes come out perfectly clean. And the best part –
   the product comes in a cardboard container with no plastic!
   
   
   
   
5. Watch a documentary about the planet. Our favorites
   include The Game Changers, Cowspiracy, and Vanishing Bees.
   There are lots of good ones – too many to list here! We recommend heading over
   to Netflix as they’ll likely have a category of documentaries to watch that
   celebrate the earth.

• Live stream a walk. If you have
  friends or family that can’t go outside right now, do a live stream where you
  show your walk out in nature. This gives people stuck at home the ability to
  see the world from your perspective.

• Make a plant-based meal. Find a vegan or
  plant-based recipe and make it for yourself and/or your family. Begin
  experimenting with recipes that avoid meat and dairy. It’s good for you and
  good for the planet!

• Learn how to pickle, can, or dry your food. A lot of food
  gets wasted each year while millions go hungry. You can do your part to
  minimize food waste by drying, freeze-drying, canning, or pickling fruits and
  vegetables. Head on over to YouTube and watch a tutorial or order a book that
  walks you through the steps.

• Make art. Find earthy items around your home or garden
  and turn them in masterpieces. Craft projects made out of shells, pinecones,
  wildflowers, or discarded feathers can be a fun way to pass the time. Recycled
  materials like newspapers can also be repurposed. This video includes lots of
  crafts that are fun for the whole family!

1. Donate to your
   favorite environmental charity. There’s no shortage of charities that can use
   your help. The Conservation Fund, Sierra Club Foundation, Peta, and the
   National Wildlife Foundation are popular favorites. Need more inspiration.
   Here’s a long list of
   organizations
   that need your help!

By now, you’ve probably seen stories about the silver lining of the global shutdown is that Mother Nature has had time to rest, heal, and repair herself. The skylines of overcrowded cities are now blue for the first time in decades, and the air seems to have a certain freshness about it.

When things return to normal, let’s not forget about the impact we have on the planet. Instead of it being a negative one, let’s make sure it’s a positive one. We’re all in this together.

Remember, there is no Planet B, so let’s be extra vigilant about protecting the one we’ve got.

Stay safe, everyone!