13 Ways To Celebrate Earth Day
The first Earth Day was initiated 53 years ago on April 22nd, 1970, when eco-minded folks were growing more and more concerned about the air pollution that surrounded them.
Since then, we've spent each April 22nd trying to be more mindful about our impact on the environment, and what we all can do as a nation to make a positive change. So with that in mind, we've put together a list of some different ways you can celebrate Earth Day!
1. Clean Up Your Yard & Plant Native Plants
If your yard hasn't been cleaned up much since winter, take this Thursday to get all your gardening chores done!
Pull some weeds, prepare your flower beds for planting, and lay some fresh mulch down.
Afterward, add some pollinator-friendly native plants to your yard to support local wildlife. The birds and the bees and the butterflies will thank you!
2. Grow An Indoor Herb Garden
And if you don't have a yard, consider growing an indoor herb garden.
It doesn't take much to get it going, and it provides you with the opportunity to teach your kids about how plants grow and the food system as a whole.
Check out our selection of seeds, or get started right away with a few of our plant starts.
3. Teach Your Kids About Sustainability
With the kids out of school, you've probably already been looking for activities to keep them occupied. Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to teach them some lessons in2 sustainability and how to be a good environmentalist. Here are a few projects to get your kids thinking about the environment:
Calculate Your Ecological Footprint from Global Footprint Network
Recycling Activities from Nature's Path
Learn About Bees from The Honeybee Conservancy
Pollution Experiments from Project Learning Tree
4. Make Intentional Changes In Your Plastic Consumption
When it comes to plastic waste, if we all made slight changes in our daily routines we could have a huge impact on how much single-use plastic is sent to landfills. Take a quick inventory of what plastic items you use regularly and look at alternative options you can use instead.
For instance, if you use a lot of plastic sandwich bags, switch them out for reusable, washable options. At the Co-op, we have a few different reusable sandwich bag options from both Full Circle and Stasher.
Another easy way to reduce your single-use plastic consumption is by replacing your produce bags with mesh, cotton ones, or forgoing the produce bag altogether.
5. Celebrate Meatless Saturday
While this popular trend is usually celebrated on Monday, take this Saturday to go meatless for the environment.
6. Repurpose Old Items
Whether you've got some pallets laying around or some old broken objects you're holding onto for some inexplicable reason, rather than tossing stuff out, try giving it a new life!
Here are some fun resources to learn how to repurpose basically anything:
80 Old Items Fantastically Fit for Repurposing from Family Handyman
25 Ways to Upcycle Your Old Stuff from HGTV
Upcycle, Remake, Refinish from DIY Network
36 Upcycled Kids Crafts & Activities from Hands On As We Grow
7. Get Outside!
Hit the park, beach, trails, or just go on a family bike ride or walk around the neighborhood! Make sure to take a moment to appreciate the world around you!
8. Invest In Green Energy
Installing an entire solar panel might be out of the question, but consider opting into PSE's Green Power Program to reduce your consumption of fossil fuels.
This switch won't add a huge cost to your energy bill and will take advantage of renewable resources such as wind, solar, and hydropower.
9. Watch an Environmental Documentary
If you want to have an Earth Day movie night, here are some documentaries worth checking out:
10. Start a Compost Pile
Another great way to limit the amount of waste you create at home is to establish a backyard compost pile. You can order a compost bin online, or, you can build your own fairly easily and at a much lower price. All you'll need are some pallets, 4 corner brackets, a box of screws, a drill, and a screwdriver.
11. Switch to Bulk
If you've walked by our bulk section wondering where to start, take the time to consider how you can adapt your kitchen to being bulk-friendly. Take a look at what you use most often, and whether or not it's something you could buy in bulk.
Chat with our grocery staff to learn more about what we offer in bulk, and start saving empty pasta jars or mason jars to use in our bulk section. Shopping in bulk is a great way to limit your consumption of single-use plastics while moving towards a more sustainable kitchen.
12. Donate To Your Favorite Environmental Nonprofit
While donating our time in a large group might be out of the question this Earth Day, you might want to consider making a monetary donation to your favorite environmental nonprofit. Supporting a local organization is even better!
13. Cook a Local Meal
Not only does eating local support our community, but it reduces our overall carbon footprint.
Buying local means the produce wasn't shipped from far distances, cutting down on a lot of the fossil fuels that would otherwise be used to transport your fruits and veggies.
What are you and your family doing to celebrate Earth Day? Take a photo and tag us on Facebook or Instagram @skagitfoodcoop!