Today happens to be the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. 50 years. That’s impressive. You would think that would be worth celebrating. Making a big splash. Doing even more for our planet than ever before. Sadly, this pandemic has thrown a wrench into those plans.
The party for the planet in Surrey is obviously cancelled. So what can we do to still do our part? Due to the self isolating and quarantining, we have seen a number of good news stories relating to the health of our planet. Dolphins have been seen in the canals of Italy. Emission levels have dropped across the globe. Animals have taken back land that was previously occupied by us humans. It’s actually amazing to see. In fact, it underlines the need for us to do our part to make the planet stronger and that, when we do, it works.
If you’re looking for ways to celebrate earth day at home here are a few ideas:
Start a garden. Not only has gardening been proven to reduce stress levels and promote physical well being, it also allows you to grow your own food! There’s nothing quite like a freshly grown tomato from your own backyard (versus one that’s been rolling around on a truck for days and days)
Pick up garbage. No matter how many garbage cans we see placed around the city, people still tend to toss their trash wherever. I have even seen bags of dog poop tossed into the bushes. A plastic bag of poop! Honestly, let’s keep our planet looking good. There’s nothing worse than walking through a green space and having to avoid the trash along the way. Even more disturbing are those that toss used safety gloves during this pandemic. Use your brain. Clean up after yourself and avoid putting others at risk.
Unplug. This pandemic has more of us glued to our devices. Although it can be a great escape to kill time when there’s not much going on, take a moment to pull yourself away from your ipads and gaming consoles to experience the great outdoors.
Build a bird feeder. If you have kids at home, this is a great way to occupy them and give you some time off as parent, teacher, referee, etc. Let them build their dream bird house. Have them decorate it as they wish and then either hang them up in your hard or within the community. Who knows, maybe you’ll find an area where others are doing the same and it could become a gathering place to watch the birds and the community come together.
Avoid packaged foods. Trash certainly doesn’t help our environment and contributes to our landfill problems. Try to cook at home using real ingredients that don’t come in a box. There are certain things that can be hard to back away from (I LOVE chocolate) so you likely won’t be able to do this all the time (or even want to) but even just a little bit more may go a long way.
There you have it. A few ways to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day at home. Now go out and hug a tree!