Make Earth Day Fun!

This week we celebrate Earth Week and April 22 is the International Earth Day.

Kids at school learn about importance of reducing, reusing and recycling. My son has to bring all the garbage he produced on this day to school. Then all the kids’ garbage will be weighted to see how much garbage they produced in just one day. What a great idea!

Canada is one of the biggest producers of garbage in the world. That is why our government is trying hard to reduce the amount of garbage going to the dumps by promoting recycling and composting (in the city of Toronto our food scraps in “green bins”  are being collected each week, while the “real garbage” only every second week). What I noticed is that the actual garbage is primarily composed of plastic or foam packaging. Every little thing, including food items, comes from a store in a big plastic box. What a waste.

At school Mark also had to write a pledge to do something good for the environment. He picked:” I will turn off the tap when I am brushing my teeth” to reduce the usage of water and electricity (water has to be heated). Every little thing counts.

What is your pledge for this Earth Day? Are you going to reduce, reuse, recycle more? Can you lead a simpler life? Consume less goods? This is what the planet needs, while we are constantly being told by the media to consume more and more. Who are you listening to?

The best option would be to spend your Earth Day outdoors. So if your climate and weather permit go hiking or camping. There is no better way to feel closer to nature. While you are camping or hiking it is natural to take only the most important things with you. Usually you also minimize the amount of garbage. You try not to leave anything behind you on the trail or on the campsite. This way your kids learn how important it is not to litter the environment. Go green and make it fun for the whole family.

Tent-camping uses very little electricity and gas. Surprisingly, RV’ing may also be good way to reduce the energy consumption. Although  motorhomes and RV’s are seen as big fuel guzzlers, you have to compare what they burn versus how much energy it takes to heat and light the whole house. Usually electricity and gas usage in a house is much larger than that of an RV.

So when you leave your house to go camping (in any way you like) you are also saving the environment (but remember to turn off the heat and lights at your house).

Happy Earth Day!