Easter Earth Day Weekend

Easter is here and that means Spring time is in full swing. Sunny days, flowers in bloom and a perfect time to celebrate the beautiful world we live in. The best part is that Earth Day is April 22nd, the day right after Easter so the holiday weekend can involve all sorts of outdoor, earthy, springtime, staycation type fun!

I’ve compiled some of my favorite tips that make Earth not only easy but fun for you and the whole family. I hope you like and use some of our suggestions to help make this world a greener place!

Here are just a few fun, green things you can do with friends or family:

• Join a beach or park cleanup with groups like the Surfrider Foundation
• Plant a tree – visit the Arbor Day site for more info
• Check out a Green Drinks event in your area
• If you have kids, Print out our calendar and draw a green star for each day that you do an activity that helps the earth!
• Get your green thumb dirty and start a garden
• Go camping in nature!
• Turn trash into treasure! Refurbish an old sofa, chair or even a garment. Get crafty and creative and you just might produce a work of art ; )
• Go for a bike ride or a long walk (leave the car behind)
• Hold a nature “scavenger hunt” (send the kids out into the garden or park in teams to collect – or spot – various items on a list you provide)
• Print out some of our posters and place in strategic positions around the house. Talk about saving water when brushing teeth and saving energy by turning off the lights when you leave a room
• Bake your favorite cookie or biscuit recipe and let the kids decorate with icing to look like the planet earth
• Gather family and friends together and combine a picnic or other excursion with a litter clean-up
• Set up a recycling centre in your home or school
• Look through your shelves and find some books to give away via your local charity shop or library

• Go Veg!  Check out a previous Earth Day post on how going veg can be the greenest thing you can do ; )
• Ride your bike whenever you can. If you just need some bread, bike to the store instead of drive, save $, gas and get some exercise in too!
• Swap out as many bulbs as possible with energy efficient LED bulbs
• Don’t run the water while you are brushing your teeth. That could be a good minute or so of wasted H2O.
• Get a few reusable grocery bags. They have gotten really stylish now so there is no excuse to be piling up the paper and plastic bags ; )
• Get a great glass water bottle (bpa free or aluminum is fine too, but I prefer glass). Do away with buying 1 use, plastic water bottles.
• Shop locally and seasonally. Buying seasonal and local products not only helps support the community but also decreases the need for long distance shipping and costs as well as being healthier for you ; )
• Disconnect electronic items when not in use. I know that might sound like a pai, especially if you’ve got your office or entertainment system rigged up just so. But there are great power strips, like DSI Green Power Strip, that have 1 main source so all you have to do is flip 1 switch and the job has been done for you!
  
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. As much as 85 percent of the energy used to machine-wash clothes goes to heating the water. Also use a drying rack or clothesline to save the energy otherwise used during machine drying.
  
• Ramp up your recycling! Be more cognizant of what you are throwing in the trash, make sorting bins if you don’t already have them. Take batteries, electronics and other “not-really-disposable” items to the proper disposal facilities.
  

• www.huffingtonpost.com –  Their green section is aces for the hottest eco news!
• www.ecorazzi.com – Daily eco-friendly fashion, beauty, lifestyle and celebrity news!
• www.ecofabulous.com – Sustainable style tips for you and your home
• www.treehugger.com – Eco videos, radio, blogs, news and more
• www.epa.gov – United States Environmental Protection Agency
• www.sierraclub.org– Explore, enjoy and protect the planet
• www.green.tv – All green videos
• www.playgreen.org – A green living wiki
• www.change.org -A social network for activism, including environmental activism
• www.nature.org – Protecting nature, preserving life

Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day!