Each year people from all over the world, interested in doing a little bit more for the planet, come together on April 22 to celebrate Earth Day. Turning this day into an annual holiday has made huge strides in bringing more awareness to environmental issues as well as educating people on what they can do to do better for our planet.
Earth Day is a fun day full of community service projects and hands-on activities, but when the sun rises on April 23rd, do you just go back to your regular life?
Having a special day to celebrate the Earth reminds us it’s important to treat our planet as best we can all the time. Here are some easy ways to put this plan into action no matter what day of the year it is.
Take a ‘farm-to-table’ approach to your backyard
While you can spend Earth Day itself weeding your flower beds or even planting a tree that will slowly grow, you can make a portion of your yard into any everyday project by planting a vegetable garden. Not only does this give you your own plot of sustainable food, that makes it to your table with a carbon footprint of zero, it ensures your favorite veggies, when in season, are always available for your dinner table.
Tackle some trash
Litter cleanup projects on Earth Day are pretty popular, and so necessary when it comes to keeping the community clean, but you can rethink trash on a bigger scale by sending less to the landfill on a regular basis.
Instead of tossing everything into the trash can, separate out those items you can compost and set up a compost bin at home. You may be surprised at all the things you used to put in the trash that you can instead compost. Some common, ok-to-compost, items include:
- Cooked leftovers
- Scraps from fruits and vegetables
- Egg shells
- Code grounds
- Meat and bones
- Dairy products
You can even toss tissues, paper towels, and napkins into your compost bin to biodegrade with the rest of your repurposed trash.
Not only will this strategy keep trash out of the landfill each and every day, but once your compost is ready, you’ll have nutritious soil to put in that flourishing garden.
Get more fresh air
Being out in nature is a great way to appreciate the world around you, and although the weather doesn’t always permit it, on Earth Day, it’s common to spend time in parks, forests, and other green spaces. To remind yourself to get outside more regularly, consider joining a hiking or walking club in your area. If one does not exist, you could start your own by meeting once or twice a month with the goal of spending time out in nature.
Shop sustainably
Earth Day exposes people to a large variety of companies that take a more environmentally-conscious look at how they make their products. Supporting companies like this enables them to keep up the good work, reducing their carbon footprint, making less waste, and wasting less water and energy.
Keeping tabs on companies doing this kind of good, so you can buy their products all year long, isn’t always easy, which is why it’s helpful to have organizations like IMPACT COLLECTIVE. IMPACT not only helps companies reduce their carbon, plastic, and water impact, they also support those who are using renewable energy sources to manufacture their products.
The partners at IMPACT all share in the commitment to do better for the world, and supporting them by buying their products allows them to continue their good work while also inspiring other brands to make big changes. You’re essentially telling all the brands out there that you’d rather shop sustainably by supporting the sustainable practices of others, and that message is important each and every day.
Take Earth Day’s inspiration with you every day
Earth Day takes all the big ideas around conservation and environmental concerns and wraps them up into a single day. The message is strong and clear, but there’s no reason to dilute it once this special day is over. Make every day Earth Day with these simple actions, and help take care of the planet 365 days a year.