EARTH MONTH

EARTH DAY IS APRIL 22ND!
But in my world we celebrate EARTH MONTH!

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“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.”
—Jane Goodall

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Here is a list of a few awesome things you can do to celebrate EARTH MONTH:

-Rally to protect our wild salmon on April 11 at Homer High School. Learn about Save Bristol Bay here.

-When you head out to your local theater to watch cat videos bring your own popcorn bowl, straw, and napkin. I haven’t found my alternative to the soda cup yet.

-Gather your electronics for the Electronics Recycling event in May.

-Plan/plant a garden to grow your own food. Learn about the foods you can gather in the wild, fiddle heads are my favorite and it is almost time for them to come up. Or if you are like me, shop the Homer Farmers Market for all your produce this summer. EAT LOCAL!

Fiddleheads!

Maybe growing my own food is not an option for me!

Support your local farmers

-Start tracking your trash. Also, examine your trash to discover a repetitive item that you might be able to find a reusable or recyclable alternative to. Do the same with your recyclables, maybe you can find a reusable alternative to cut back on your recycling. This is what I am starting this month. I hung a trash calendar above my trash can to mark the days I take out the trash. In the future I plan to start weighing it and take pictures of what I am throwing out, this will keep me more accountable for what I put in the ground.  And for the record, this includes business, personal, and street/beach trash.

-Reduce your mail and packaging waste. Switch to electronic billing and receipts. Reduce your junk mail. Check out Rid Junk Mail for tips to reduce your junk mail. Contact manufacturers of some of your regular purchases to suggest alternative packaging. You would be surprised how well this works!

-Cut back on your driving. Try to have at least one day of no driving or consolidate your errands to reduce your trips around town. This really varies for me, some weeks I can do one day, others two days, but I always try to take care of my errands in the mornings so I am only driving one time during the day. Of course it helps to live only tens steps away from the store!

-Appreciate and learn about your natural surroundings. Take a walk on the beach or in the woods. Find something you have never seen before and do a little research to learn more about it.

-Reduce your meat consumption by one day.

-Trash pick up. Pick up one piece of trash a day. Plan with a group of friends to participate in Homer’s Clean Up day, La Baleine Cafe’s new weekly clean up day, or Alaskan Ocean Cleanup Crew ongoing beach clean ups. Grab a buddy and organize your own clean up event!

-Participate in local Earth Day events. Islands and Ocean Visitor Center will be the hub for a variety of events in Homer. Check back with Kachemak Bay Conservation Society for more details.

BONUS TIP:
SHOP LOCAL, SHOP SMALL, SHOP CONSCIOUSLY, SHOP SUSTAINABLE WARES!
EASY PEASY!

SHOP NOW

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
—Margaret Mead

“The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for.”
—Ernest Hemingway

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