Tips to celebrate Earth Day

Good morning, Courier readers! April 22nd is a special day to celebrate our nurturing, Mother Earth. And while tackling climate change might seem daunting at times, we mustn’t give up hope. So, without further ado, here is a comprehensive list of all things you can do to turn your climate anxiety into climate action!

At home and other individual actions:

*Switch to a more eco-friendly search engine like Ecosia. Ecosia plants trees for every 45 searches you make on the web. It’s the world’s largest not-for-profit search engine and is endorsed by Jane Goodall. https://www.ecosia.org

*Aspiration invests in tree-planting initiatives and other sustainability projects. More information is available on their website. https://www.aspiration.com/spendandsave Get your eco-friendly debit or credit card today!

*Do you wish you could offset your carbon footprint, but don’t know how? Look no further because Wren is here to help. Wren is a subscription service that can offset your carbon footprint with world-class climate projects. Some of these projects include tree planting; biochar production; providing clean cooking fuel for refugees; and rainforest protection. Wren can offer you the tools to live more sustainably and make a positive impact on the earth, without having to leave your home. https://www.wren.co/our-approach

*Are you a master procrastinator and could use some help? Download the Forest App: a productivity app that plants trees while you study. Forest App is in partnership with Trees for the Future, and they have planted over a million trees. https://www.forestapp.cc

*Switch to bamboo-based paper products. Bamboo grows 20 times faster than trees, thus making it a more sustainable resource. A great website to check out is Grove Collaborative: they provide bamboo-based toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, napkins, and other household products. https://www.grove.co

*Also, try out Cleancult for your everyday cleaning products and sustainable hand soap. https://www.cleancult.com

*Wish you didn’t waste so much food? Buy a kitchen composter. https://pela.earth/lomi

*Are you in love with lavender? Me too. Try out this compostable lavender deodorant. https://meowmeowtweet.com/products/lavender-bergamot-deodorant-stick?fbclid=IwAR2cW-3PXLLW49G85Y-4IZi_PymdYQgxLQTALdpG68Ek9IHgzfi_uhFPcoY

*Use beeswax paper: it’s a reusable, compostable wrapping paper used to keep food fresh. About two million plastic bags are used every minute around the globe, so why wait to make a change? Shop at https://www.beeswrap.com

*Try out this reusable dental flosser: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/durapik/durapik-the-reusable-zero-waste-dental-pick

*Try out the new soy chicken nuggets at KFC and other plant-based protein from Incogmeato. https://www.morningstarfarms.com/en_US/products/incogmeato.html

*Invest in renewable energy.

*Install solar panels on your house. It will improve the market value of your home, is cheaper than fossil fuels, and the solar industry creates more jobs.

Shopping Spree:

*Shop at thrift stores and avoid the fast-fashion industry. Here’s two sustainable fashion industries: https://indigenous.com and https://www.tentree.com.

*Eco-friendly shoe companies: https://inhabitat.com/these-shoes-are-made-in-the-worlds-only-entirely-vegan-factory/ and https://www.johnnyfootwear.com

*Looking for some new cosmetics? https://www.natrue.org

*Do you own a cute doggo? Shop at Wanderuff: the eco-friendly online pet store that makes dog collars, leashes, harnesses, and walk kits, all from recycled water bottles. https://www.wanderruff.co

*Are you an artist, but want to do something good for the environment? Try Air-Ink: a pen made from air pollution. https://learn.eartheasy.com/articles/this-artists-ink-is-made-from-air-pollution/

Reading Material and Eco-Media:

*“Our Livable World: Creating the Clean Earth of Tomorrow” by Marc Schaus

*“All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis” Edited by Ayana Elizaeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson

*Need some positive news stories about climate action? Check out Happy Eco News and Good News Network. https://happyeconews.com https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org

Fun family activities:

*Buy a bird feeder and water feeder for your backyard.

*Build a birdhouse: https://www.audubon.org/audubon-birdhouse-book

*Make your own hummingbird nectar (hummingbirds usually arrive in late April): https://www.audubon.org/news/how-make-hummingbird-nectar

*Dump coffee grounds on piles of dead leaves or mulch in your garden.

*Create a bee and butterfly bath; they work up quite a thirst foraging and collecting nectar. Fill a shallow bird bath or bowl with clean water, and arrange pebbles and stones inside so that they break the water’s surface. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQw1U9CIXcc *

*If you’re interested in an educational coloring book about bumble bees and monarch butterflies, email at katrinags@comcast.net, and I’ll send you the pdf. I created this coloring book to teach kids about the importance of pollinators for my Girl Scout Gold Award project in 2017.

*Ride a bike and/or go hiking.

*Want to teach your kid about environmental activism? Order a copy of “Kids Fight Climate Change” written by Martin Dorey and illustrated by Tim Wesson. Available at the Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop.

*Take your kids to see the new Dreamworks film “The Bad Guys.” Dreamworks has partnered up with the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness and stop illegal wildlife trade. https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/coalition-to-end-wildlife-trafficking-online

Places to donate:

*Did you know that only 3% of philanthropy goes towards environmental conservation? Let’s change that!

*Wherever you donate, see if you can match your donation with your employer.

*Plant or restore seagrass: seagrass is vital for ocean habitats and they absorb tons of carbon. https://www.wwf.org.uk/what-we-do/planting-hope-how-seagrass-can-tackle-climate-change

*On average, poachers kill an African elephant every 26 minutes and conservation for these majestic animals is more urgent than ever. https://campaign.awf.org/support-african-elephants/?utm_source=sembefch&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sem

*Protect rainforests before they are demolished. https://www.rainforesttrust.org

*Jack’s Solar Farm, located in Longmont, is one of the largest commercially active research sites for agrivoltaics in the U.S. https://www.jackssolargarden.com

*Global Greengrants Fund, located in Boulder, provides more than 14,000 grants in 168 countries. These grants help communities through climate justice, revive critical habitats, investing in beekeepers and farmers, and addressing gender inequalities. https://www.greengrants.org/who-we-are/

Help your community:

*Shop at a local beekeeping business such as Meadow Lake Honey. They are located at 7922 Meadow Lake Road, Niwot. For more information call 303-305-8988 or email meadowlakehoney@hotmail.com

*Are you a business owner and want to make some change in the world? Then join 1% for the Planet: it will pair your business up with environmental non-profits, where you’ll choose where to donate the 1% of your annual profits. https://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/about.