Celebrating Earth Day In Style This Year
As Earth Day rapidly approaches, arriving on April 22nd, it’s time to start thinking of ways to celebrate!
Sure, it’s not the biggest of holiday’s and it certainly doesn’t have the gift-giving or the food-eating or the family-gathering dynamics of other, more common holidays, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great opportunity to simply celebrate.
Plus, the nice thing about celebrating such a non-denominational holiday like Earth Day is that there isn’t really a right or wrong way to do it. Let’s take a look at three approaches to celebrating Earth Day this year.
Making Little Changes
Earth Day is ultimately about appreciating the earth and figuring out the best ways to live life sustainably so that you can help prolong and preserve the nature and planet. Little life changes and adjustments, done by millions or billions of people across the planet can ultimately have a pretty significant impact with minimal effort output.
Buy some new bulbs: The next time a lightbulb in your home goes out, head to the local hardware store and purchase energy-efficient incandescent bulbs, like halogen bulbs. They use significantly less energy than traditional light bulbs, which is not only environmentally friendly, but saves you money as well.
Invest in a reusable water bottle: Water is one of the most important commodities on earth, and plastic is one of the most damaging. A one-time purchase of a reusable water bottle, like a Kool 8 bottle, not only massively eliminates the amount of plastic consumption, but can even save a person over $6,000 over the course of five years from using a reusable bottle instead of purchasing new plastic bottles.
Replace showerheads with WaterSense Heads: Handheld, rainfall, showerhead- there are plenty of different types of shower heads to suit your desires and needs. The best part, all these options are WaterSense approved, which means they’re the highest quality with the most water-saving products. Using 20% less water is not only powerful for the environment and the planet, but it also is powerful when it comes to your water bill! Investing in new faucets for the sink as well as the showers in your home can end up saving you hundreds of dollars a year.
Make a resolution for Earth Day. If you’re going to celebrate a holiday, any holiday, you should come up with a resolution for it. Whatever that may be! My personal resolution is to exercise more this spring (yes, winter was brutal for me!). And then get yourself a pedometer to track progress against that goal. I personally own a Fitbit, but there’s a lot of options out there for every budget. Check out this article highlighting the coolest pedometers of 2019. Some of them are super affordable. Whatever product you end up choosing, stick with it in the name of Earth Day. Then around Independence Day, see how much progress you made with your resolution. At least that’s my plan this year!
Getting Out to Appreciate
This is an especially great option if you’ve got little ones. For young kids, earning an appreciation and having respect for the planet and its resources means they’re more likely to grow into with a sense of awareness and consciousness regarding their actions, choices, and impact.
· Find a local arboretum or botanical garden: Arboretums and botanical gardens are somewhat similar to zoos for plants, and are a fantastic way to simply observe and appreciate the flora and fauna or local and exotic locations. Many of these places have special events specifically for families and young kids for Earth Day, and even host games and activities to engage them in the holiday.
· Head to the aquarium: The ocean, ocean wildlife, and a bunch of other sea-related knowledge can be learned at local aquariums. Most of them even have living animals there for observation and appreciation. A fun, easy way to spend the day learning about the vastness of the ocean and how best to preserve the wildlife there for centuries to come. Kids can see, touch, feel and hear during many aquarium visits, and while they’re wonderfully informational, they’re also great fun.
· Take a Hike: We use the word “hike” loosely here, because even a simple stroll through a nature preserve counts as a hike in our book. But simply getting out there to look at and appreciate everything nature has to offer has an impact on children’s perceptions of the world around them. The nice thing about a mountain hike or nature walk is that they don’t cost a thing if you go to the right place!
Find a Way to Get Involved
Taking action can help you find a simple activity or event to participate in to help make some sort of contribution to local environmental efforts, and can be a fun and engaging way to spend your day.
· Do a beach cleanup: The best part about this is obviously being able to head to the beach and spend the day in the sun and sand. But, a great second part is the fact that you can help contribute to easing the effects of pollution by strolling the shores and picking up any plastic or garbage that you happen to find along the way. Finding some organized event is a great way to meet new people and make for a fun event.
· Find a local park event: Lots of cities and towns hold fairs or festival-style events in honor of Earth Day. Food, games, live music, activities, booths, artwork, networking are often benefits of events like these. See if there’s going to be one around Earth Day in your hometown and make plans to head that way for a fun, easy outdoor day.
· Plant a tree: This could be in your own backyard or it could be a local event as well. Some cities hold tree-planting ceremonies where visitors can come, select a tree, and plant it in the ground for Earth Day. If there’s not an event near you, feel free to simply buy a tree at a local gardening store and plant it in your own backyard to be just as effective!
Get outdoors, make some adjustments to your habits and your home, and find ways to volunteer or get involved. Do a lot, or do a little, but do something this Earth Day.
This post comes from Codrin Arsene, CEO @ Digital Authority Partners.
