April 22 is Earth Day: 3 simple things you can do

Chinese Mountain ash. © given photography 2018

I still remember the very first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. 

I was a student at Winston Churchill High School in Eugene Oregon and our entire school scoured the city for trash in public areas. The big find of the day--an old toilet that some really boisterous senior boys found and hauled back to our school's giant pile of trash. 

Kids in our school were among the 20 million Americans who demonstrated support of earth sustainability through action on that day 34 years ago. 

It was the beginning of our modern environmental movement ultimately leading to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Soon after passage of acts to protect our air, water and endangered species followed.

Today, as we all know, ongoing sustainability efforts are critical to keep our great big earth healthy. And there are many easy things we can do to support this effort. 

Here are three easy things you can start doing right away. Remember, small changes make big results. 

1. Set your mower blades high. Skip the golf course look and leave your grass 2 to 3 inches high. This will make your lawn healthier and help it retain moisture--so less watering. 

2. Scoop your poop. It's a change that is becoming more widespread, but picking up after your dog does it's daily thing helps keep our water sources clean. Otherwise it's just untreated raw sewage running off into our storm sewers, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. 

3. Use canvas shopping bags. The benefits of using a canvas bag for your groceries is far reaching from saving paper to eliminating the use of plastic bags. Some stores even offer incentives for using your own bags. It's an easy habit to create and makes you feel good every time you do it. 

Do you have ideas. Share with us and share with your friends by clicking the share button below!

For lots more ways to "save the Earth," check out Jonna Yarrow's book 1,001 Ways to Save the Earth. It's a tiny little book, but packed with helpful ideas about simple changes we can make in our everyday lives. Not preachy at all. 

For fun things to do on Earth Day, read my previous post, Earth Love.

Happy Earth Day!