Every year, Earth Day seems to sneak up on us. Unless you’re planning ahead, it’s (sadly) easily forgotten until the day or week of, making it too late to join a big beach cleanup or feel like you’re doing something worthwhile in honor of the holiday. Fear not! There are plenty of simple, yet impactful ways to help out Mother Earth, even if you’re a little late to the game. Plus, these easy ideas on how to help the environment are not reserved just for Earth Day; you can make a difference any time and feel good doing it.
1. Volunteer at your local community garden or farmer’s market
Community gardens have been shown to make a hugely positive impact on the health of communities and the environment. On top of increasing biodiversity, improving air and soil quality, and providing access to fresh foods, they’re also positively correlated with decreased neighborhood crime rates.
Getting involved is easy, as these gardens can often use some extra hands. Many cities have government sponsored community gardening and farmer’s market programs. A quick Google search should do the trick. Even if you can’t get started ASAP, the act of signing up is a positive step in the right direction. Below are programs for major cities in our delivery zones.
Philly’s Horticultural Society
San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks department
2. Pick up trash around your neighborhood
It’s quite literally as easy as walking outside and picking up trash. Grab a trash bag or a large reusable bag, gloves, and a pick-up stick if you want to get fancy. Bring your headphones and throw on your favorite music or podcast and you have yourself an afternoon. We promise it won’t look weird and you won’t be judged. In fact, people might even get the idea to do their own cleanup. Bonus points if you grab friends or family to join in.
3. Get educated
You don’t have to physically do anything to contribute to a better environmental future if that’s not your thing. Educating yourself and others is half the battle! The more awareness there is, the more change can be made. Just look at how Earth Day started. Once you educate yourself make sure to spread the word! Word of mouth goes far.
Ways to get started
- Learn how to recycle properly
- Look up consumption statistics and habits in the U.S.
- Research how you can make small changes in your daily life
- Read about environmental causes and movements
- Search social media for environmental info (TikTok is always a goldmine)
4. Take baby steps at home
Change doesn’t happen overnight. If you want to live a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, switching up everything you do or buy right away isn’t the most efficient strategy. Try making one or two small changes at a time, fully integrating them into your routine, then adding more. For example, you can start by aiming to use less water by turning off the sink while brushing your teeth, using one tub of soapy water for hand-washing dishes, and making showers quicker. From there, you could buy a water-saving shower head, hire someone to check for leaks, or even buy a more efficient toilet. Check out these ideas for more sustainable swaps.
5. Sign a petition
This one’s another way to make a change without moving a muscle. Find environmental causes you can get behind and look up ways to support those causes through petitions. Support for important causes drives the momentum that creates change—it’s not nothing. These three websites are a good place to start: change.org, epa.gov, and edf.org.
6. Buy reusable products
Swapping out your current products for reusable ones is a great way to make a change. From bathing to cleaning to beauty products; just think of all the plastic containers that get thrown out on a monthly basis. In the past few years, companies have adopted reusables in a big way, meaning it’s much easier to find a great alternative that actually works for you. Take stock of what you have that could be swapped by making a list of all the products you use. From there, pick a few and start researching the best eco-friendly alternatives.
Once again, the key is to start small and work your way up. For example, if you want to switch out your dish soap and cleaning supplies for refillable, eco-friendly options, wait until they’re empty and switch them out then. This creates a more natural exchange that you’re likely to keep up with long term.
7. Walk or bike when you can
This option is what we call a win-win—helping the environment and getting some exercise in. The average car emits around 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. By biking or walking to the store just once a week, you’ll save .67 tons in carbon dioxide a year.
8. Donate to an environmental cause
Put your money where your mouth is! Research environmental causes that you can get behind and start making periodic donations when you can. (Another win-win, since donations are tax deductible). Here are a few options.
9. Waste less food
Over 30% of the U.S. food supply is wasted. That’s $161 billion worth of food that could have gone to good use. In 2010, each person wasted an average of 218.9 pounds of food. That’s about a month and a half’s worth of food. Food waste is an issue that’s often overlooked, but could be managed with a little effort.
Try these techniques to waste less food
- Plan out your meals a week ahead of time
- Buy less at the grocery store and return as needed (bonus points if you walk there!)
- Take stock of the foods you consistently throw out and make a point to buy less of those
- Swap some proteins and veggies for frozen alternatives. There are high-quality, nutritious frozen items in every store.
- Find creative ways to use food scraps and items that are going bad. Wilting greens? Throw them into a juicer with cucumber, apple and lemon! Tossing a lot of fruit and vegetable peels? Try composting.
These are just a few ways to help the environment and make a change. Once you start, you’ll keep finding more. What other ways do you help make a positive environmental impact? Drop them in the comments, we love to see it!