How to Celebrate Earth Month in 2024 // 24 Earthy Actions to Take This Year
Happy Earth Month! It’s the best month of the year for environmentalists. But, let’s not just let our eco habits and swaps stay in April, let’s set ourselves up for an eco-friendly lifetime to come. Here are 24 ways you can celebrate Earth Month 2024 and start some new zero waste habits.
Upcycle something, do a craft
Think before you throw away this Earth Month. Instead, see what you have and try to make an eco-friendly earth-themed craft. This is fun for artsy adults and kids alike. You could turn old carboard into cavasses for paintings, old cans into organizers, scrap yarn into a new project full of life, and so much more. Get crafty and prevent stuff from going to the landfill. If you want to learn more about how our landfills are actually running out of space, you can watch this video after this. Here are some upcycled crafts I’ve done:
Turned old tshirts into tshirt yarn and crocheted a rug
Reused sunscreen tins for organization
Repurposing candle jars with Everly Candle Refills
Try a new swap for Earth Day
Feel like you’re stuck in a zero waste rut? Try a new zero waste swap for Earth Day! Try something you never thought you’d try before like composting, reusable toilet paper, a bidet, or something else. Maybe you like it, maybe you don’t, but let this be your sign to try! If you don’t like it, you can likely rehome it to someone else for free on Facebook Marketplace. Here is a list of advanced low waste swaps to inspire you.
Or, maybe you’ve never lived zero waste before. What a great day/month to start! Here is my ultimate list of zero waste swaps for beginners to get you started. If you’re new to zero waste, I recommend you try swaps slowly to save money and prevention of becoming overwhelmed. Try one swap per month!
Get your library card
Nothing says “Earth Day” quite like fighting against capitalism. That sounds extreme but that’s what libraries are doing! They are one of our only free resources left so let’s take advantage of that. Not only are they free but they are also low waste since it prevents 100s or 1000s of people from buying books, movies, games, and magazines (among other things). You can even get free books with the Libby and Hoopla apps!
Libraries also have so many other resources such as workshops, after-school programs, events, and so much more. Go support your library this Earth Month!
Don’t have a library near you? Get a free library card anywhere in the world from Queer Liberation Library and get free books with the Libby and Hoopla apps.
Go find some Free Little Libraries
Another fun and free thing to do is seek out Free Little Libraries in your area. Here is a map to get you started. This is a great way to boycott wasteful businesses during Earth Month and instead support your neighbors. It’s also a great excuse to declutter your own books. Bonus, you can even make and set up your own Little Free Library this Earth Month! Here’s how.
Declutter and donate your old items
Speaking of decluttering, April is the perfect month to do some spring cleaning and resetting in your life. But, since it’s also Earth Month, we’re going to do so in an eco-friendly way. Here are my tips for eco-friendly cleaning, and when you’re decluttering, make sure to do it responsibly. Instead of throwing everything away, donate or sell instead. Here are some ideas on where to do that:
Local thrift stores
Depop
ThreadUp
eBay
Facebook Marketplace
Offerup
I highly encourage you to avoid big chains like Goodwill and The Salvation Army, they’re not as eco as you think. Here are some decluttering tips to get you started!
Image from Squarespace
Go support your local bulk/refill store
Looking for an excuse to try a bulk store? Let Earth Month be your excuse! I’ll even bet money that they are running discounts this month ;) Yes, they’re probably more expensive than you’re used to, so just try one product or two and see how you like it. They can’t operate without us so show them some love this Earth Day and help support a small and eco-friendly business. Don’t know if you have one near you? Check out the EcoRate app to find one near you. If that doesn’t work, try Google Maps with words like “zero waste store,” “bulk store,” or “refill store.”
Photo from Squarespace
Go support your local farmers
Similarly, support your local growers this Earth Month! They most likely use more sustainable practices than big farmers and it doesn’t get more eco than grown right in your town. Check out a local farmers market, orchard, or farm and support your neighbors instead of billionaires. Plus, it will probably be cheaper and so much more tasty. I challenged myself to eat only local foods for a week in 2021 and I even tried new foods! You never know what you might discover.
Rewild your yard
Your mowed short yard? Yeah, it’s bad for the planet. It likely is full of non-native plants, isn’t drought or flood-resistant, and doesn’t support local wildlife or pollinators. You can learn more about why traditional Western yards are terrible for the planet here. So, learn about why your yard isn’t so great for the planet and try to do something about it if you can. Renters, I see you, I couldn’t change my yard when I rented in Vegas, so do what you can. But, here are a few ideas:
Let the grass grow longer and stop mowing so frequently. This will help your grass survive both floods and droughts, too!
Remove any non-native plants and replace them with native ones
Plant pollinator-friendly flowers to encourage them to come visit
Ditch the fertilizer and herbicide and let the “weeds” return. They’re not weeds, either, they belong there!
Stop watering your grass, it doesn’t need to be stark green 24/7. If you do want to still water it, don’t water it in the middle of the day or after it just rained
Photo from Squarespace
Starting a garden? Go organic this year
Spring is the perfect time to try gardening if you have the space! If you do garden, try organic gardening this year. Or at least, ditch most of the harsh ingredients in most fertilizers and pesticides. I get it, you don’t want critters destroying your crops, but find other ways to prevent that that don’t harm you, the soil, and our groundwater. Make your garden a little more eco this year!
If you want to start a garden, use what you have: tires as garden beds, plant right in the ground, source wood secondhand and reclaimed. You don’t need to buy a whole bunch of stuff to start gardening, in fact, that can cause more harm than good!
Try a vegan meal today (or once a week/day this month)
Yes, eating fewer animals is better for the planet, I’m sure you know it by now. It can be hard to quit eating your normal diet and switch though, so let this be your sign to try it out this month. You can try eating fully vegan on Earth Day. Or maybe every Monday in Earth Month you try eating fully vegan for the day. Maybe it’s easiest for you to just make every single breakfast this month vegan or vegetarian. Whatever it is for you, try eating fewer animals this month for the sake of the planet (and usually, your wallet).
Care for your pollinators
We briefly touched on pollinators earlier, but seriously, let’s help them out this year! Our pollinators are constantly at risk from pesticides, urbanization, pollution, and so much more. Without them, we don’t eat! Seriously! Caring for them looks a bit different depending on the species so here are some ideas:
Plant pollinator-friendly flours and other plants that are native to your area that will provide them with food
Help them get water! Many bees and other bug pollinators are too small to drink from large bodies of water, so fill a shallow dish with water and place pebbles in the dish for them to stand on so they don’t drown.
Build a bat box! Even HOAs can’t stop bat boxes since bats are protected pollinators. This helps bats have a home in otherwise urban areas.
Let them be! Don’t kill bugs, this is their home too!
Read an eco book or watch an eco-documentary today
Get educated this Earth Month from books, documentaries, podcasts, and watching content creators. Here is a list of my favorite eco-themed books, movies, and more. You can make it a goal to read or watch one item per week or just have a marathon on Earth Day.
Pick up some trash or join a clean-up
Maybe you’re like me and prefer to do things solo, so go out for a walk and see how much trash you can pick up on Earth Day! You could also set a monthly trash goal. In 2022, I tried to pick up 2022 pieces of trash and easily picked up 10,000 pieces of trash. Yes, 10,000!
Or maybe you want to make friends or join a group, there is likely going to be at least one if not multiple Earth Month clean-ups near you. Try a Google or Facebook search for Earth Month events in your region and join an existing event to make the world a cleaner place this year. This can be a great way to try the next one…
Find a non-profit to volunteer for
Maybe you don’t want to pick up trash but you’d rather plant trees, build trails, or do outreach. Try finding an environmental non-profit near you to volunteer for this month. This could also be a great way to make connections and get inspired to volunteer all year long! Volunteering is a particularly great way to give back to the planet and your neighbors on a budget.
Alternatively, if you have money but not time, you can donate your money to local non-profits instead.
Connect with nature
Get outside this Earth Month and see what we’re fighting for! This could look like a simple walk around the block, visiting a city park, or making a weekend excursion to a state or national park. I also encourage you to do more than just get outside: look around, observe the plants and animals (I like the Seek and Merlin apps), get to know the history of the land and its people, touch the dirt and the rocks, and open all your senses. Generally, just appreciate every little thing you see, hear, feel, and smell outside.
Go car-free for the day
If we could all give up our cars forever, that would be amazing. But, in the US, it’s built for cars so we don’t have much of a choice. So, try going car-free just one day this month, perhaps even on Earth Day itself! You could walk to the grocery store, carpool to work, or take the bus to the gym. Whatever works for you and your circumstances, see how easy or hard it is to go car-free in your city. Who knows, maybe it’s easier than you thought and you can rely on your car a little less in the future.
Can’t give up your car? Here are some more ways to boycott big oil.
Sign petitions, call, and write your elected officials
Take action this Earth Day! Make it a day of activism. Find petitions to sign and share them with your friends and family (or online audience if you create content, too). Write and call your elected officials demanding climate action, especially in this critical election year. If you’re not registered to vote yet, register to vote this Earth Day! You may have missed your state's Primary Election but that doesn’t mean you have to miss the rest of the elections this year!
And, once again, share all of this with your friends and families. Take climate action, yes, but encourage others to do the same. We have power in numbers!
Spread the word and inspire others
Oops, I just hinted at this one. But, this goes beyond just sharing petitions and encouraging people to vote. Share climate news, share creators and books and podcasts with them. Inspire the people in your lives to try reusables or ditch their cars or recycle. Yes, it’s great that your family believes in climate change, but are they educated on the subject? The more educated we all are on recycling, waste, climate change, energy, and politics, the better activists and advocates we can all become.
Make this the day to switch your bank
I know, it can seem daunting, and I’m sure it’s on your radar. Let this Earth Day be your sign to finally switch your bank. If you didn’t know, most banks invest your hard-earned money into fossil fuels. Why? It helps the banks make money. Yes, that’s what they’re doing with your money, they’re using it to make dirty money for themselves. So, get outta there! Put your money into a bank that isn’t investing in ruining our futures. Gittemary Johansen made an excellent video about this and I’ll be making my own soon!
Or switch to green energy
Another task that can seem intimidating but is easier than you think! It really just involves calling around to see what your options are. Some options are the same price or even cheaper than coal and oil. I know, not every region offers renewables, but do your best and see if you can switch energy providers this Earth Month.
Calculate your carbon footprint and plan ways to reduce it
I know, carbon footprints are a scam. They were created by, you guessed it, big oil to make us think that WE are the problem when really, it’s them! But, it’s still important to see how wasteful we are as individuals or as families. So, calculate your carbon footprint this year and see how you can reduce it such as driving less, flying less, eating less meat, consuming fewer new items, and more. Do your best and remember that your actions matter but you are not the problem for climate change. Here is my list of the best things we can do for the planet as activists and to reduce our carbon footprints.
Join a tree planting event or plant one in your own yard
Please don’t go around planting trees willy-nilly. Do it on your own property and plant a native species. You can try contacting your local city arborist, nursery worker, or city planner for advice if you need it!
Maybe you don’t have a yard, chances are someone is going to a native tree-planting event for Earth Day! I did two in 2022 that were hosted by local non-profits so they did all the work and planning, I just had to show up to dig some holes and stick saplings in them! What a lovely way to celebrate the earth and the generations to come.
Shop small today and try to do it all year
We talked about bulk stores and farmers, but support other small and family-owned businesses, too! Our family goal for 2023 (and continuing forever) was to divest our money from big companies and shop as local and small as we could. Instead of shopping at Kroger, we shop at Meijer or better yet, local grocery stores.
Even if you only have access to giant stores and malls, you can shop small within those stores. In Kroger, opt for Cedar’s hummus instead of Sabra. Other family-owned brands I love are Bush’s baked beans, Bonne Maman jam, and Wyman’s berries.
Why is this eco-friendly? Billionaires and billion-dollar mega-corporations generally don’t have the planet in mind. Not only that, but they are also produced farther away. Small companies can be more local to you reducing carbon emissions from shipping and in general, even if they aren’t that eco, they have less environmental impact. Plus, it’s just socially better to support your neighbor instead of a billionaire.
Join or start an environmental club/organization!
Want to get involved all year long? Want to make eco friends? Join an eco club at your school or in your community! This could look like regular volunteering at a non-profit, joining your university's eco club, or even joining or starting an online community of like-minded folks to talk and get involved. We must build community and take community actions. Yes, our individual actions matter, but they matter more when multiplied. We need to be organizing more now and throughout the future of the environmental movement to make significant changes.
It’s also important to have a community to talk to and fall back on should you face environmental hardships, burnout, or climate anxiety. We need each other!
Thank you so much for reading along, I hope you enjoyed this post and feel inspired this Earth Month. We really have the power to make the future we want and the future we deserve, the future our children and grandchildren deserve. We can do this!
Happy Earth Month, Happy Earth Day. Let’s keep making change, inspiring one another, and fighting for our home.
As always, remember that your small actions make a big difference in the long run :)
Emma
