Caring for the Earth

Monday, April 3, 2023

 

Earth Day should be every darn day, and you know why? Because if it weren’t for this fantastic planet, we wouldn’t exist. The Earth is the very thing that sustains life, so today I am dedicating this whole blog post to some wonderful ways you can take care of the Earth. These are things you can do on a small scale or spread the word to others and get everyone else to do the same so it’s a larger scale effort. Either way, just know that little acts are still important acts.

Clean Up Litter

People litter everywhere. It doesn’t matter if there are signs that warn against it and it doesn’t matter if it’s out their car window or in a common area like a park or on a nature trail. They do it and they don’t care. While we can’t hide out waiting for people to litter, we can pick up after them. Yes, they should pick up their own trash. It’s obviously not your trash…but it’s your planet. So just do it. Get some gloves, grab a trash bag (and a second bag for recycling) and find a pointed stick to help you grab at trash and head outside. You can simply walk up and down your street getting trash and cigarette butts off the road or you can head to a park, a body of water, a hiking trail, or any other scenic place and start picking up trash. When I do this I like to envision the Earth taking a nice deep sigh when I’m done, feeling just a tiny bit of relief.

Plant Trees and Flowers

Help the ecosystem in your own yard by speaking to staff at a lawn and garden center about which flowers, plants, and trees would be good for your yard. Ask them how far it should be from the house and what care it needs. A tree is an amazing thing for nature. It creates homes for bugs, birds, and other critters and some provide food as well. It can provide you with shade too. Flowers are important for birds and bees and other pollinators and they look beautiful when in bloom. Shrubs provide hiding spots and nesting areas for birds to stay safe from predators and raise their young.

Recycle and Reuse

Recycling is important but make sure you look up your township laws on what can be recycled, and what needs to be rinsed out (you shouldn’t let food or liquids remain in your recyclables). But when at all possible, please consider reusing something. Bottles can be used to store things and so can glass jars. Cardboard boxes that products come in can be used to organize drawers, or you can use the cardboard for crafts. And of course, with trash, unwanted clothing that’s beyond repair can also be used in crafts (I make knotted door knob hangers with mine). Old magazines and majorly damaged books can have the pages ripped out of them to use for scrapbooking and mixed media painting. You can also start your own little compost collection in your yard or even in your own kitchen so you’ll have less food waste. You can search online for more information about that.

Protect the Animals

There are lots of little steps you can take to help coexist with the animals and not put them in harms way. If you use birdfeeders, please keep them under some sort of cover whether it’s a tree or a little structural roof. This allows them to safely snack while avoiding predators. Try to avoid using harsh chemicals on your lawn. The idea of a perfectly green grassy lawn doesn’t mean it’s a healthy ecosystem. Learn to embrace the beauty of the ground cover weeds that grow in. You can find bumblebees in your grass all the time, why would you want to harm them? Slow down when driving in your neighborhood. The amount of animals that get hit by cars is sad. And if you happen to hit an animal, check on it. If it’s an opossum especially, check it’s belly in case it has babies in it’s pouch. Look up numbers for your local wildlife rehabilitation center so if you ever need to take a wild animal there, you have their contact information quickly on hand.

Remember even little actions still can have a meaningful impact.

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