Our favorite holiday is coming up soon, and we're excited to get to celebrate earth with you all. That's right, Earth Day is right around the corner, and we're here to help get us all prepared for the big event.
In fact, because we love the planet so much, we're going to be celebrating all of Earth Month, and we hope you will, too. Our earth being in good health is essential for all life, and keeping it that way certainly doesn't have to be boring. We're going to be talking all about Earth Month and what you can do to celebrate, but feel free to jump ahead to whatever interests you most:
- What is Earth Day?
- What is Earth Month?
- 12 Earth Month ideas to take better care of our planet
- 12 great Earth Month activities that are fun and easy
Let's get started with what exactly Earth Day and Earth Month are.
What is Earth Day?
The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22nd, 1970, as climate change started coming out as a real issue. That Earth Day inspired many environmental movements, and even environmental laws, including the National Environmental Education Act in the US. We now celebrate Earth Day every April 22nd.
Today, Earth Day is generally celebrated by learning about the environment and sustainable practices, appreciating nature, and doing fun activities that are good for the environment. This is fantastic because the more people are aware of the climate crisis and the actions they can take, the more empowered we are to protect the planet.
What is Earth Month?
Earth Month is the month surrounding Earth Day, which is April. The idea of Earth Month is that we should care and learn about our home for more than just a single day of the year. Focusing one month of the year on climate change and sustainability can help everybody develop more eco-friendly lifestyles.
Of course, we don't expect you to figure everything out on your own, or to do it all without a bit of fun. That's why we've developed a list of habits and activities you can get into to properly celebrate Earth Month this year.
12 Earth Month ideas to take better care of our planet
Let's start by going over some changes you can make throughout April to make a positive environmental impact. We don't expect you to do everything. Taking small steps and trying your best is what matters the most.
1. Choose a different snack
It's really easy to go to the store and grab some processed and packaged snacks, but that isn't great for our planet. The manufacturing process is messy, and the packaging creates literal tons of waste.
Instead, go for some fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables to snack on. Or, you can go all out and make your own snacks with fresh ingredients. This way you can also get all your shopping done with reusable produce bags and glass jars.
2. Pick up some litter
Unfortunately, there is litter absolutely everywhere. You're likely to walk by some litter no matter where you go or what you're doing. For Earth Month, try walking around with some waste bags that you can throw the litter in whenever you see any. It's such an easy way to take care of the planet while adding hardly any time or effort to your normal routine!
3. Recycle your kitchen scraps
Enormous amounts of food waste has been a growing issue in households around the world. We simply don't use all the food that we buy, and end up throwing some away. A great solution to this problem is food recycling or composting. Instead of food scraps ending up in a landfill and releasing a bunch of greenhouse gasses, they'll be turned into a rich fertilizer you can feed to your own plants.
If you want to start composting but are worried about how much work it'll be, we've got you covered - an electric food recycler like Lomi takes all the work out of composting, making it perfect for beginners and anyone who doesn't have the time or space for traditional composting! All you need to do is throw your food and compostables into Lomi and press a button. You'll have nutrient-rich fertilizer you can feed your plants in less than a day.
4. Don’t buy as much stuff
One of the best things you can do for the world is to just buy less stuff. We often buy more than we need, and more than we ever actually end up using. We're sure most of us have been in the position of throwing away some clothes we rarely ever wore, but bought because we thought they looked nice. The fashion industry in particular is especially bad when it comes to waste, so even just cutting down on clothing purchases would be an improvement.
Just buying less will easily cut down on waste, but also cut down on the environmental impact of the whole production and shipping process. For Earth Month, think really hard about each of your purchases, and if they're actually necessary. If you're not sure, just wait a few days before buying it. That urge to buy whatever it was may just go away.
5. Reuse everything you can
The world is stuffed to the brim with single-use disposable items, especially single-use plastics. One easy change is to only use reusable items this April. Swap plastic bags with canvas bags, and plastic straws with metal or bamboo straws. You can even carry a reusable cup with you to your favorite coffee shops and ask them to fill that up instead of one of their disposable cups.
6. Get together with friends and family
While you may be excited to celebrate Earth Day and Earth Month, you might find your family and friends are apprehensive, or just don't know much about it. We would encourage you to gather as many of your friends and family as you can to join you for the Earth Month activities you're engaging in. Getting into the Earth Day spirit will be much easier with everyone participating together.
7. Get involved with your community
Finding local communities is one of the best ways to get involved in climate solutions! Want to make a real difference in your community? Local environmental groups can accomplish more than you probably think. With the help of a group, you can get plastic bag bans passed, carbon taxes passed, and much more.
8. Swap and trade
Do you need new stuff but are worried about the environmental impact of new purchases? Don't worry, you still have plenty of options. Buying slightly used or trading with neighbors is a great way to get what you need and to recycle other people's trash. You can usually find local trade groups online, or you can go out to a thrift store to access all the used items you could need.
9. Eat more veggies
Another great way to help the earth is to change up your diet. Eating meat is harder on the climate than having a vegetarian or vegan diet. While it would great for you to jump into that kind of lifestyle if your interested, we understand that not everyone wants to or can follow a plan-focused lifestyle.
Instead, try reducing your meat consumption while increasing your consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes. Even just having smaller meat portions during your meals, or having a single vegetarian meal a week can make a real difference! Not only can you save the planet this way, but you can easily save on money when you buy less meat.
10. Start building sustainable habits
We're not going to be able to protect by only doing some activities one day, or even one month, every year. We need to focus on building habits that we can sustain year-round that will positively impact our environment.
This April, work on building habits that you'll be able to continue once Earth Month has passed. That can include changing your diet, your purchasing habits, or your waste habits. If there are products you can buy to help you live a more green lifestyle, that's also great! For example, purchasing a bunch of glass jars to fill with food bought from the bulk section, or getting a Lomi to help reduce your food waste are both great ideas.
11. Reduce plastic use
In the United States alone, roughly 100 billion plastic shopping bags are used every year. As newly disposed of plastic gets added to landfills, it simply piles on to the billions of tons already present and slowly decomposing. A single plastic water bottle can take up to 450 years to break down.
So, one of the easiest ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle is by reducing your dependency on plastic. Choose plastic-free alternatives that are more environmentally friendly. You can start by swapping out your phone case for more sustainable ones that can break down in your compost. Check out a wide range of biodegradable phone cases by Pela Case!
12. Just go outside
Image credit: @themountainshepherd
Having an appreciation for our earth and its wildlife starts with actually going outside and experiencing nature for yourself. You'll grow to love the trees, the clean air, and the country by spending time surrounded by the nature we're trying so hard to protect.
Make a promise to yourself that no matter what else you can or can't do this April, at least spend some time outside. Go walk more than normal, maybe even take a hike in the woods. Do whatever you can to spend some quality time with this earth.
12 great Earth Month activities that are fun and easy
Now that we've got the big stuff out of the way, here are some quick and easy activities you can organize or get involved in this April:
- Participate in a virtual event: The Earth Day website has many amazing virtual events across 190 countries. You can go here to find and register for an event that interests you!
- Plant a tree: Planting trees is super easy, and you should be able to get saplings from your local garden stores. If you don't have a yard where you can plant a tree, you can still get one planted through the Nature Conservancy.
- Donate to an environmental cause: There are already so many environmental organizations and charity groups out there. Look into a few and make a donation to one that you like!
- Clean up the neighborhood: As we already mentioned, there's litter everywhere, and we're willing to bet your neighborhood is no exception. Get a group together from your community and work together to clean it up.
- Turn off the lights (and everything else): We all use more energy than we really need to, especially when we forget to turn off the lights. This Earth Month, make an effort to turn everything off when you're not using them. And yes, that includes actually turning off and unplugging your computer.
- Plant wildflowers around your neighborhood: Ask your local council or governments for permission to plant native wildflowers in public green spaces in your neighborhood, such as local parks.
- Make Earth Day inspired treats: You know a great way to get your child involved and excited about Earth Day? By making treats with them inspired by Earth Day! Make a whole day of it and teach them all about sustainability while you're cooking together.
- Grab some energy-saving lightbulbs: One super simple way of reducing the power you use is to replace all your old and energy-intensive lightbulbs with some energy-saving ones instead.
- Stuff your car with reusable shopping bags: We've all been in the position of having driven all the way to the grocery store just to realize we left all of our reusable bags at home, so we end up taking the plastic grocery bags at the checkout. Do yourself a favor and set some sort of reminder for you to take all those bags to your car on a regular basis.
- Arrange an office carpool: Gas-powered cars are a serious burden on the earth, but they're often a necessity. Organize an office carpool with as many coworkers as possible to reduce that burden as much as possible.
- Make some homemade bird feeders: This is another exciting activity you can do with your kids, or even on your own. Make some homemade bird feeders, hang them up, and fill them with food for your local wildlife.
- Organize a community nature event: Get your whole community involved in a guided nature walk through one of your local walking trails. Hire a nature and wildlife expert to guide you all for a wonderful experience.
With Earth Month just around the corner and Earth Day coming up quickly, it's time to start preparing how you're going to celebrate. If reducing your food waste by either food recycling or composting will be part of your plans this April, don't forget to order your Lomi soon. You can also learn more about composting, gardening, and going zero-waste on our blog. Happy Earth Day!
Written by: Sereana Simpson