A few weeks ago I was pretty bummed out when I scratched "STL Earth Day Fest" from my calendar. In the past I've enjoyed attending the festival to walk around the brightly-colored booths, learn about local environmental projects, watch chickens and meet farmers, explore hands-on activities, enjoy food from local eco-friendly restaurants, and more. But of course, this year we'll be hanging out at home— or, at best, taking a walk in a nearby park— and that got me thinking of all the ways to celebrate Earth Day while quarantined.
You'll notice that many of these ideas do not fit the narrow category of "helping the 'Environment.'" That's because Earth Day is about the earth, which includes humans— and poverty, social justice, and racial issues are all tied up with the health of the planet.
Here are 22 ideas to get you started!
1. Attend a virtual Earth Day Festival.
2. Donate to an organization. If you have money right now, throw some dollars at an organization doing good work— and if you don't have money, consider donating time (for instance, signing up to call people), and/or promoting the organizations on social media. If you're unsure where to start, check out your local Earth Day chapter, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, The Bail Project, The Land Institute, The Cornucopia Institute, Heifer International, a local trails organization such as Great Rivers Greenway, or nonprofit farms in your area such as EarthDance Organic Farm School or Gateway Greening.
3. Mend or repair something. The longer you make something last, the more embodied energy and pollution you'll avoid.
4. Offer to teach someone a skill you have.
5. Research local/sustainable farms, groceries, and restaurants in your area. Resilient, close-to-home food sources are more important than ever before, and if you're held back from supporting local options because of the extra work involved, I encourage you to take time to do some research. Many right now are offering pick-up or even delivery options, so it's a great time to figure out local options that will work for you! Check out LocalHarvest.org to find local food near you.
6. Discover how many slaves work for you (and what you can do to help).
7. Watch an educational video. The Story of Stuff and The Blue Planet are classics, but also check out documentaries like this one about the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and YouTube channels such as Rob Greenfield and Happen Films.
8. Sign up for a CSA. Community-supported agriculture is a buying model where you invest money up front in exchange for a weekly box of food from a local farmer. It's great for both you and the farmer, so try to find one near you today! (St. Louisans, check out Local Harvest Grocery, Lakeview Farms, or Fair Shares to get you started on your search.)
9. Call your representatives about an environmental issue. The Sierra Club's current list of petitions is a good place to start, even if you don't agree with all of their policies.
10. Offer or just give help to neighbors. Who needs a loaf of homemade bread left on their doorstep? Who needs a cheerful phone call? Who needs help mowing their lawn, setting up a garden, or buying groceries? Unconditional support, and asking for/giving help are going to be essential as we move forward into the climate crisis.
11. Find out your water footprint.
12. Learn to make something you'd usually buy.
13. Make some nontoxic cleaning products. Keeper of the Home has a great round-up of recipes!
14. Commit to spending five minutes a day learning a skill that will be helpful for the earth. (Not sure where to start? Check out these ideas!)
15. Connect with nature. Open a window, walk around the block, or hang out in your yard. Breathe deeply and listen to the birds.
17. Offer seeds to people, or ask for seeds. If you garden, see if any of your neighbors or friends wants to plant some flowers, microgreens, or zucchini! If you're interested in gardening, ask around to see if anyone's willing to share seeds with you. It's a great time of year to get ready to get all sorts of beautiful food and wildlife-value plants in the ground.
18. Subscribe to a conservation magazine to learn more about nature in your state. The Missouri Conservationist (and the kids' version, Xplor) is free to Missouri residents, and your state might have something like this too!
19. Find your local chapter of Freecycle or Buy Nothing Project and get started on sharing resources.
20. Post environmental protest signs in your windows, on social media, and/or in chalk on your driveway. You can't go out and strike, but you can stay in and still get your point across!
21. Read through The Greener Year Challenge series and find some changes you'd like to commit to.
22. Find an accountability partner for making earth-friendly changes.
What are you going to do to celebrate Earth Day?
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