Celebrate Earth Day at home – 10 things you can do for our planet from the couch (2/2)

Every year, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd. In over 150 countries, initiatives, aid projects, and activities focused on environmental protection take place on this day. And you can even help from home. I'd like to introduce you to some of these opportunities.

If you missed the last post and thus the first 5 of a total of 10 tips, please have a look first the first part of this article In addition to providing inspiration for action, I also address the following questions: What is Earth Day? Why is Earth Day celebrated? And: What is the goal of Earth Day?

Without further ado: Let’s move on!

10 ways you can contribute to Earth Day from home

The options I'm listing here are aimed at anyone who wants to make a difference and take the next step toward sustainability. Whether you're new to the topic or have been involved for a long time, – there is always something to do! 😎

I would be thrilled if this post inspires you to try one or more of my suggestions. Please let me know in the comments which of these suggestions you'd like to implement. If you have any other ideas for Earth Day-related activities, please feel free to share them! After all, we all benefit from them. 🤗

The impulses for action at a glance:

(Recommendations number 1-5 can be found in the first part of this article.)

Photo by veeterzy on Unsplash

6. Plant a tree

Did you know that planting trees is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most effective solutions to climate change? Reforestation can achieve a lot of things at once. Trees are an essential part of our ecosystem. They clean the air we breathe, filter our drinking water, and provide an optimal habitat for many different animal and plant species. Furthermore, trees improve soil properties, provide natural erosion protection, and provide jobs for over a billion people. Last but not least, trees capture harmful CO2 from the atmosphere.

So why not plant a tree on Earth Day?

There are some wonderful projects that are committed to reforestation. Planted and Plant-My-Tree for example, plant trees in Germany. The organization Forest of Life is committed to reforestation of the rainforest.

Planting trees is convenient online and can be done from home. Best of all, you can plant multiple trees for just 5 euros! The organizations offer several donation options (one-time, monthly, 1 tree, 5 trees, etc.).), which means you're sure to find something that suits you and is possible for you!

By the way: Even without spending any money yourself, you can help plant trees. For example, while browsing the web about Ecosia or via the productivity app Forest, where you plant trees by staying focused. Cool, right? Definitely check it out!

7. Participate in (virtual) demos

During the pandemic, many climate strikes and demonstrations are available online. There are a number of live streams and other events taking place virtually on Earth Day. Most of these are free, and you can simply tune in or let the stream run in the background.

It's incredibly inspiring to be part of it online and see what's possible together. After such events, you usually return to your daily life motivated and full of energy. Because the activities are often extremely elaborate, you usually learn a lot!

In particular Fridays For Future organizes many events and climate strikes. German website of Earth Day you will receive a lot of information about activities planned for April 22, 2021.

Is there any point in participating virtually?

The answer is yes! Unfortunately, protesting on the streets is currently only possible to a limited extent. However, in our digital age, even "virtual numbers" have a significant impact. In the best-case scenario, high participation rates have a positive impact on climate policy and the government's roadmap. Being present for a cause that matters to us can therefore make a big difference.

8. Have (difficult) conversations

This point ties in with the first impulse for action I mentioned. Because with informing yourself comes learning. And through interaction with others, you can also potentially learn a lot. Conversations about serious, relevant topics may not always be easy or fun. Nevertheless, it's important to have them. The goal shouldn't be to impose your own opinion on others. Rather, it's about broadening your horizons, adopting different perspectives, or even imparting knowledge.

Earth Day can be an innocuous opportunity to shift the conversation to the climate crisis or environmental protection. The prerequisite, of course, is that both parties are willing to engage in dialogue.

Especially when topics close to our hearts are addressed, we quickly react emotionally or feel personally attacked. Even if we sense during the conversation that we are the party with less knowledge about the topic, it's easy to slip into a defensive stance. Therefore, it's important that both parties always communicate as openly and empathetically as possible, without accusations or personal attacks.

Conversations in which both partners research a topic together or pursue a specific question can also be very insightful. Then you can say: “Hey, I would like to learn more about this Palm oil problem/Animal Welfare/... Let's see what we can find out together." Researching together is often more exciting and motivating than doing it alone. At the same time, you can exchange ideas directly on certain topics.

What do such conversations achieve? Well, quite a bit—for example, awareness, attention, self-reflection, inspiration...

Nature documentaries can also provide inspiration for conversations! It's always fascinating to chat with others about the content and feelings after watching a documentary.

What topic would you like to discuss with a person of your choice?

Photo by Max Goncharov on Unsplash

9. Get the kids on board

Do you have one or more offspring? Then get them involved! Children are usually incredibly curious and easily enthusiastic about something. And that includes climate and environmental protection. At least children have far fewer prejudices about these topics than adults.

There are a lot of cool little sustainability experiments that can be done at home. Experiments are great for demonstrating how something works to children and for clarifying boring theoretical concepts in a fun way. And I can promise you, as a parent, you'll benefit from them too! 😋

Online (z.BThere's plenty of inspiration for sustainability experiments you can try with your children on Pinterest/YouTube. You probably already have the things you need at home.

Here is an example of such an “experiment”:

The compost bottle

Explaining composting can be difficult. Making your own compost bottle can shed some light on the subject.

What you need:

• A large, empty plastic or glass bottle
• Earth
• Leaves, compostable kitchen waste or other compostable materials

How it works:

• First, remove all labels from the bottle. A plastic bottle is particularly suitable because you can also cut off the top part of the bottle to enlarge the opening.
• Fill the bottle with alternating layers of soil and compostable waste until the bottle is full.
• Add a splash of water – just enough to moisten the mixture slightly (not soggy).
• It is best to place the bottle outside in a place where it gets sun.
• Let the bottle sit for several weeks. Check in regularly with your children on the composting progress. Depending on their age, they can also keep a diary of sorts to document the decomposition.

10. Companies write

Not everything is in our hands. Many of our planet's precious resources are consumed in the production of products or other work processes. Many large companies and corporations are increasingly trying to make their work processes more sustainable on their own initiative. However, most companies are doing far less than they could. And often, companies aren't even aware that sustainable use of resources is desired or demanded by end consumers.

Therefore, it's always a good idea to write to companies. This way, they'll be made aware of things they can do better and in a more environmentally friendly way. It's great, of course, if you can present possible solutions, but that's not necessary. Even just hinting at an environmentally unfriendly part of the work process can lead companies to change their strategies or implement new, more sustainable methods. This is especially successful when many people express their displeasure about it.

A little help:

Replace Plastic, an initiative dedicated to reducing the use of plastic packaging for food, makes it pretty easy. You enter in the app/website which product you believe is unnecessarily packaged in plastic. Then, by clicking "Send improvement request," the manufacturing company is informed that consumers want plastic-free packaging. Products not yet registered in the database can be added by simply entering a few details. Done!

Which three companies do you think could make their work processes, sub-steps, packaging, etc. more sustainable? Take Earth Day as an opportunity to write them an email.

Aaaand?

Was there anything among these suggestions that you'd like to implement? I really hope so...
If so, then make a conscious effort to do it now and maybe even write it in your calendar! 😌

Of course, you can implement each of these action prompts on any other day of the year – after all, our earth is there for us not only on Earth Day, right? 🤗💛

If you would like to learn more about sustainability, healthy eating, mindfulness or family and pregnancy, Check out more exciting blog articles on these topics here.

Photo by Dmitry Gladkikh on Unsplash