Commit to Acts of Green for Earth Day and Every Day

written by Ashley Kazijian, Bulletin Contributor
 
Earth Day is part of a global environmental protection movement used to demonstrate support and raise awareness about global warming and climate change. Recognized annually on April 22nd since 1970, Earth Day holds great opportunities for education and for participating in conscious “acts of green” aimed at restoring our planet.
 
Educating yourself on the history and objectives of Earth Day allows for better understanding of our impact on the environment, particularly at the micro level.  As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many Earth Day events that usually take place globally will not be held again this year. However, there are still plenty of ways to take action from home, and that’s really the best place to start. When you think about change, you’ve likely either thought or heard that change starts with you. When it comes to environmental protection, people often get discouraged about making changes at the micro level because they feel that their efforts aren’t impactful. This is an easy conclusion to come to when you think about everything out of your control (for example, we can’t make everyone stop driving cars and tossing their trash out onto the road, can we?). But we need to remember that all acts of environmental protection are impactful, no matter how big or small. Below are some practices that you can regularly incorporate into your daily life, not just on Earth Day, to help restore the earth around you:

• Shopping at local farmers’ markets
• Using reusable bags
• Planting a tree
• Recycling and upcycling
• Volunteering or organizing a community clean-up
• Conserving water (fix that leaky faucet!)
• Walk/ride a bike instead of driving your car
• Choose products containing nontoxic chemicals
• Switch to long-lasting light bulbs
• Go micro-bead free (check your skincare products!)
• Reduce your use of plastic
• Switch to paperless billing and statements
• Start composting
• Incorporate more sustainable foods into your diet.

 If you have children in your household, take advantage of this Earth Day by finding creative ways to educate them and instill some of those earth-conscious practices. The more we take care of our planet right now, the better shape it will be in for our children and their children and so on. Activities such as art projects with recycled materials and getting out into the garden are good ways to engage even the littlest kiddos on Earth Day. The earlier you engage your children in earth-friendly practices, the more likely they are to stick with them and pass them on to others. This is one reason why implementing these practices at the micro level IS important and certainly impactful. The more we educate, practice, and pass on to others, the more environmental restoration we will achieve.