We have been given a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity to heal Mother Earth by staying home. While unnerving and inconvenient, it is healing the earth. She is saying thank you by giving us clear blue skies and enough quiet to hear every bird chirp.
Usually on Earth Day, we like to get outside. Take a hike and appreciate all that Mother Nature has to offer. We pick a place not too far, that we haven’t explored yet, and head out for the day, if it is on the weekend or we take a quick hike after work.
The past year or two, I have talked to my little one about picking up trash on our walks, and how we need to help clean up and take care of the earth every day. He is starting to help and even tells me why we do it (talk about a proud environmentalist mama!).
This year, like many around the world, we are staying home. Of course, we will take a hike on a nearby trail, but many of the trails near our home are taped off. We will stay close to home.
It is a different kind of Earth Day.
It is probably the first Earth Day in the entire 50 years that Mother Earth is enjoying the celebration, without the typical flood of earth day merchandise and sales, events and festivals.
We are giving her the space she needs to breathe. We are giving her time to heal some of the damage we’ve inflicted. We are letting her show us how beautiful she can be when we just let her be.
But it’s Earth Day and many of us want to do something extra to honor our Mother. there are still so many ways to celebrate the earth and honor her today (and every day).
Is your neighborhood as clean as mine? Yeah? Breathe it in. This is the earth taking a break from all of our day to day pollution. We may never see it like this again in our lifetimes. So, take it in and appreciate it. Then commit to doing what you can to keep it like this, including some of these ideas.
Here are a few things that you can do (from your home) to celebrate the earth in isolation:
Register to Vote if you haven’t already
Then commit to showing up for the next election in your state. Electing politicians who are committed to truth, believe in science, and work to enact legislation that protects the earth above business is one of the most important things we can do.
Join Earth Day Live 2020
EarthDay.org has put together a 24-hour online event with performances, discussions, art installations, teach-ins, and opportunities to get active on social media. Elizabeth Warren, Dave Matthews, Pope Francis, Al Gore, and other celebrity activists are all set to “appear.” There will be 12 hours of the Earth Day Live Stream and a call for 24 hours of digital activism.
Slow Down
Take some time this Earth Day to slow down and enjoy what you have. Appreciate your home, your neighborhood, your possessions. Take a breath. Enjoy the boredom that this quarantine is creating. Create space for slowing down. Give yourself time to sit, to notice, to breath. Take some additional time to think about what you can learn from this new normal and take with you when things return to the way they were before.
Get Active
And not like ride a bike sort of active (but do that too!).
If, like many of us, you have some extra time on your hands, get active. You can become a digital activist. While the global pandemic has halted our ability to protest (we sure miss our Fridays for Future group!), there are ways to protest digitally and make a difference from home. Find something you feel strongly about and start making calls, making posts, or donating.
Call Your Representatives
Spend time reaching out to your federal, state, and local elected officials. Let them know that you are paying attention, that you vote, and that you expect them to listen to your needs. Tell them that climate change, your health, and the planet need to be the top priority.
Go on a Neighborhood Cleanup
Many of us have celebrated Earth Day in the past by doing beach and other wild area cleanups. Why not get more local and spend a bit of time walking your own neighborhood and cleaning up any litter?
Clean Up Your Home
While our homes are our planets, let’s clean them up! We are all at home more, so now is a great time to get busy making your home more environmentally friendly (and safer for you and your family). Here is a big guide to everything you need to know to clean up your home.
Clean Up Your Beauty Routine
If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start switching over to a clean and ethical beauty routine. Here is a big list of ethical beauty brands and products to help, or take a look at my guide to cleaning up your beauty routine.
Donate
Instead of heading out to an event (where you would inevitably buy a few things), why not spend that money and donate to your favorite environmental charity. A few of my favorites include the NRDC, EarthJustice (because the earth needs a good lawyer), and the Sierra Club. But there are many more. Find a good one here.
Plan Plant-Based Meals
If you are anything like us, you aren’t going to the store as much as you used to and with that comes meal planning. Spend a few minutes and put together two weeks’ worth of plant-based meals. I used Epicurious’s list last week to plan, and absolutely love the butternut squash steaks. My little one loved the lemony pasta. After you’ve meal planned, take a look at my tips on reducing food waste.
Start Your Own Garden
Again, we are spending a lot of time at home, so why not take the time to start a garden. Even if it is as little as a windowsill garden:
Or a very small (and not really thriving) backyard herb garden:
Growing your own food reduces chemicals in our waterways, energy required to get food to you, and of course is much cheaper. If you are able to grow native plants, you can also create a bee and bird friendly yard.
Make an Earth Day Resolution
Forget New Year’s resolutions, let’s start Earth Day resolutions or Earth Day focuses. Take a few minutes today and think about what you personally can do to help the earth, reduce your own impact, or become an environmental activist. It can be as small or large as you feel comfortable committing to, but make this year one that you are a benefit to the earth.
Whatever you do this year for Earth Day, I hope you find time to appreciate the earth, honor her, and do something to make this Earth Day one to remember. We may never have an opportunity like this again. One in which we are forced to stay put, reduce our global footprint, and notice how quickly the earth can heal herself when we leave her alone. Let’s use this opportunity to continue to honor her and make sure we are doing everything we can to continue to allow her to heal.
And, if you want a few more, here are is a pretty long list of what to do on Earth Day and how to really celebrate Earth Day.
Happy Earth Day everyone!