Tomorrow is Earth Day! A day full of education on improving our earth and celebrating what our home has to offer. For me in the past, Earth Day has been spent picking up litter along the highway or digging up weeds near businesses. Unfortunately, I won’t be volunteering this year – even though I did apply to garden at our local park. If tomorrow will be sunny, I will most likely spend it in my garden reading a book.
You may wonder, “well, what can I do for Earth Day?” There are many ways you can celebrate and help out our Earth tomorrow (and every day!). I’ve been working to try and be more sustainable in my life. Just one little step towards sustainability can help keep our world healthy.
Recycle
This seems like the most obvious way of helping our planet, but it does make a big impact! I felt so guilty when I was in my student accommodation for my Master’s and there wasn’t a recycling program. It made me feel so wasteful. Now, being back in London, we have a great recycling program in our borough which allows us to recycle almost everything. Make sure to check what products are taken where you live.
Limiting Food Waste
This is another great way to help. By limiting food waste, you are limiting what goes to landfills. It’s even better if you are able to compost your food or have a food waste program where you live. I also recommend learning how to create smaller portions of food. Too much leftover food will ultimately end up being wasted.
Buying Local
Purchasing from local shops is a fantastic way of being sustainable – especially if you are purchasing meat and produce. Buying local limits the carbon footprint from seller to buyer. Plus, you get to help out a small business in your community!
Growing Your Own Produce
One step even better than buying local is to grow your own produce! Not only will you have fresh fruits and vegetables right outside your door, you will have a new hobby. Gardening is also a good stress reliever. We haven’t been able to plant any produce (urban foxes are dominant around here), but we have planted some wildflower seeds in hopes of helping the bee population.
Picking Up Litter
Another really easy way of helping our planet is by picking up litter and disposing of it properly. Now that more people are out and about, there will be an influx of litter in public places. I can understand that you might not want to pick up litter because of the pandemic. Just make sure to wear some gloves! Every time you pick up litter, you’re helping our Earth’s health. Also, pick up after yourself!
Have a happy Earth Day!
xx Hannah
Idealistic Iowan 