Every day is Earth Day for us, but celebrate the official date in April with these 6 sustainable and fun Earth Day projects.
For plenty of us, every day is a good day to celebrate the Earth. Whether it’s by breathing in fresh air, picking up litter from the ground, or switching over to reusable bags, we can find ways to encourage better treatment of the Earth.
You may not think that one small change can make a difference, but it truly does. When millions of people take small steps to help the environment, as a collective, we are making leaps.
Coming up with sustainable projects that promote better care for the environment makes an impact, whether you believe it or not. Even making art from recycled materials gives life to something that would otherwise live in a landfill.
When you break down how your small changes can make a difference, you begin to see why so many people choose to live a sustainable lifestyle. While the issues surrounding the Earth can seem overwhelming, taking control of how we interact with our environment can bring some peace of mind.
Taking part in sustainable projects on Earth Day is a great place to start if you’re itching to make a difference. If you’re looking for some sustainable #inspo, the Thistle Family has you covered with six fun and Earth-friendly projects to celebrate Mother Earth today and every day.
What Is Earth Day?
Earth Day falls on April 22 every year and commemorates the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Before the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, the United States was living in a consumerist society (much like today), and the first major damaging impacts were showing on the Earth. From increased air pollution to witnessing more oil spills that damage ecosystems, some Americans were beginning to voice their concerns.
The idea of Earth Day came about as an opportunity to host teach-ins on college campuses that would discuss the impact humans and corporations have had on the environment. It was sparked by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, who had become increasingly worried about the state of the world’s environment.
This movement quickly sparked interest across the country, and conservation-minded and environmentally conscious people saw the potential to use the same date as a way to spread awareness. Over 50 years later, and we still make a point to spend April 22 rethinking our impact on the environment and coming up with ways to make a change.
Still, where do we even begin? What kind of sustainable changes are worthwhile and accessible to us? Sure, we aren’t going to save the world from climate change overnight, but there are definitely ways we can adjust our lifestyles for the better.
Let’s get started!
6 Projects to Do on Earth Day
Joining and supporting causes that voice our environmental concerns can be impactful, choosing more plant-based meals has its benefits, and picking up litter on your walks can make a change in your life (and the lives of the people around you).
Whatever you choose, if you enjoy your sustainable projects, you’ll have a much easier time committing to them long-term. These ideas are fun and easy ways to incorporate Earth-friendly practices into your everyday life.
1. Art From Recycled Materials
A fun and impactful way to practice sustainability is by turning recycled materials into art projects. There are plenty of pieces laying around in your home that might not serve a big purpose, but that doesn’t make them trash. Not all material is recyclable, and recycled materials still need to find their home somewhere that isn’t a landfill. DIY projects like paper crafts, egg carton trees, and coffee filter Earth painting are great ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle using fun Earth Day activites.
You can cut up plastic bottles and turn them into a mosaic piece, built a bird feeder from boxes, or use a variety of fabrics to create small blankets and scarves. The perfect Earth Day art project is the one you’ll use again and again—consider necklaces, suncatchers, and other Earth Day craft ideas that you can use around the house.
For spring crafts for kids and Earth Day activities for preschoolers, you can introduce them to tin-can robots, coloring handprints with crayons on recycled paper plates, creating construction paper terrariums, or crafting tissue paper hats.
There is also plenty of DIY science experiment templates online and free printable coloring pages for kids of all ages. You can even put together a scavenger hunt or other fun Earth Day activities to educate your kids about the importance of Mother Earth. You’ll feel just like the Lorax, but better 🌳
Bringing life to old things you might have thought of as trash or junk keeps them from rotting away in landfills and ending up in our oceans.
2. Organize a Community Clean-Up
Putting together a community clean-up is a thoughtful way to encourage better treatment of the environment on a local level. Get some of your friends and family together, and create a map of where you want to focus your efforts. Everyone grabs some trash bags, gloves, and grabbers and splits up, walking around and collecting trash littered on the ground.
Doing this project with other people can make you feel confident and make it fun, too. You’ll be breezing through your section, eager to move on to the next.
When you bring along people you love, you can create sustainable habits together. You are cleaning up your city for you and all the people you care about. You’re the ones directly affected by litter in your city, so by organizing a clean-up, you’re benefiting your environment directly. Seeing these changes on a community level can help remind us of the real impact that sustainable practices can have on the environment and the big change just a few people can make.
3. Start a Garden
Gardening is a useful and beautiful hobby that you can enjoy year-round. Whether you choose to plant aesthetic flowers or yummy produce and herbs, a garden is the gift that keeps giving.
By planting vegetables and herbs, you’ll save yourself trips to the grocery store and get fresh produce whenever you want it.
Gardening helps you to practice self-sustainability, too. With many places suffering from food disparity, learning how to be self-sufficient can ease some anxiety about access to food. You can even donate some of your crops to people in need.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your confidence and skills grow as you continue to learn about cultivating food and flowers. Plus, Earth Day is a great time to start a garden just in time for blossoming produce in the summertime.
4. Decorate Your Reusable Water Bottle
Another fun project that you can take part in on Earth Day is decorating your reusable water bottle. Instead of buying plastic water by the case, you can consider investing in a reusable water bottle for you and your loved ones.
Metal bottles help people to stay hydrated more easily throughout the day and limit plastic production and consumption. While plastic water bottles may be convenient, metal water bottles are even more convenient. Lugging a 24-pack of water bottles from our car to our doors? No, thank you.
If you need a little motivation to use your reusable bottle, spend Earth Day with your friends decorating it. When you have something eye-catching, memorable, and totally you, it’s harder to forget about drinking water as you go about your day.
You’ll be drinking more water and helping the environment. How fun is that?
5. Bike Instead of Driving
One of our last suggestions for your Earth Day celebration comes down to transportation—namely, the most fun transportation around.
Car pollution is real and impacts the air that we breathe every day. To combat pollution and the use of gasoline, consider biking as a way to get around. If you are close enough to your job, hop on your bike and get some exercise as you cut back on your emissions impact.
If you don’t bike, consider walking (if possible) or even hopping on public transportation. This cuts back the number of fuels being used, benefiting the air around you. Plus, getting outside and enjoying that fresh air can help boost your mood and help you connect with the Earth around you. What better way to celebrate Mother Earth than some quality bonding time?
6. Sign-up with Thistle
If you think you spend too much time throwing out food or eating out, consider signing up with Thistle. We provide customers with delicious plant-based meals that are good for you and the environment, and we’ve always got sustainability in mind.
Food waste is a huge issue in the United States. With Thistle, you can reduce your food waste and support more local farmers. Want to try to be more sustainable this year with your food consumption? Thistle can help!
Conclusion
We celebrate Earth Day to remind people that we can make an impact on our planet. It’s a team effort to make a positive change, and Earth Day allows everyone to learn more about our goal: preserving our Earth.
It can be overwhelming to make a change alone, but thankfully, we are not an island. Taking baby steps one day at a time can go a long way, and Earth Day is a wonderful day to start.
While every day is a new day when we can protect the environment, planning and setting goals for the year ahead on April 22 can help you take control over your household’s sustainability practices 24/7, 365 days a year 🌍
Sources:
The History and Importance of Earth Day | Environmental Center | University of Colorado Boulder
Impacts of Climate Change | US EPA
Feeding Urban Communities: A Look at Disparities in Food Access and Nutritional Consumption | U Penn
Every day is Earth Day for us, but celebrate the official date in April with these 6 sustainable and fun Earth Day projects.
For plenty of us, every day is a good day to celebrate the Earth. Whether it’s by breathing in fresh air, picking up litter from the ground, or switching over to reusable bags, we can find ways to encourage better treatment of the Earth.
You may not think that one small change can make a difference, but it truly does. When millions of people take small steps to help the environment, as a collective, we are making leaps.
Coming up with sustainable projects that promote better care for the environment makes an impact, whether you believe it or not. Even making art from recycled materials gives life to something that would otherwise live in a landfill.
When you break down how your small changes can make a difference, you begin to see why so many people choose to live a sustainable lifestyle. While the issues surrounding the Earth can seem overwhelming, taking control of how we interact with our environment can bring some peace of mind.
Taking part in sustainable projects on Earth Day is a great place to start if you’re itching to make a difference. If you’re looking for some sustainable #inspo, the Thistle Family has you covered with six fun and Earth-friendly projects to celebrate Mother Earth today and every day.
What Is Earth Day?
Earth Day falls on April 22 every year and commemorates the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Before the first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, the United States was living in a consumerist society (much like today), and the first major damaging impacts were showing on the Earth. From increased air pollution to witnessing more oil spills that damage ecosystems, some Americans were beginning to voice their concerns.
The idea of Earth Day came about as an opportunity to host teach-ins on college campuses that would discuss the impact humans and corporations have had on the environment. It was sparked by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, who had become increasingly worried about the state of the world’s environment.
This movement quickly sparked interest across the country, and conservation-minded and environmentally conscious people saw the potential to use the same date as a way to spread awareness. Over 50 years later, and we still make a point to spend April 22 rethinking our impact on the environment and coming up with ways to make a change.
Still, where do we even begin? What kind of sustainable changes are worthwhile and accessible to us? Sure, we aren’t going to save the world from climate change overnight, but there are definitely ways we can adjust our lifestyles for the better.
Let’s get started!
6 Projects to Do on Earth Day
Joining and supporting causes that voice our environmental concerns can be impactful, choosing more plant-based meals has its benefits, and picking up litter on your walks can make a change in your life (and the lives of the people around you).
Whatever you choose, if you enjoy your sustainable projects, you’ll have a much easier time committing to them long-term. These ideas are fun and easy ways to incorporate Earth-friendly practices into your everyday life.
1. Art From Recycled Materials
A fun and impactful way to practice sustainability is by turning recycled materials into art projects. There are plenty of pieces laying around in your home that might not serve a big purpose, but that doesn’t make them trash. Not all material is recyclable, and recycled materials still need to find their home somewhere that isn’t a landfill. DIY projects like paper crafts, egg carton trees, and coffee filter Earth painting are great ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle using fun Earth Day activites.
You can cut up plastic bottles and turn them into a mosaic piece, built a bird feeder from boxes, or use a variety of fabrics to create small blankets and scarves. The perfect Earth Day art project is the one you’ll use again and again—consider necklaces, suncatchers, and other Earth Day craft ideas that you can use around the house.
For spring crafts for kids and Earth Day activities for preschoolers, you can introduce them to tin-can robots, coloring handprints with crayons on recycled paper plates, creating construction paper terrariums, or crafting tissue paper hats.
There is also plenty of DIY science experiment templates online and free printable coloring pages for kids of all ages. You can even put together a scavenger hunt or other fun Earth Day activities to educate your kids about the importance of Mother Earth. You’ll feel just like the Lorax, but better 🌳
Bringing life to old things you might have thought of as trash or junk keeps them from rotting away in landfills and ending up in our oceans.
2. Organize a Community Clean-Up
Putting together a community clean-up is a thoughtful way to encourage better treatment of the environment on a local level. Get some of your friends and family together, and create a map of where you want to focus your efforts. Everyone grabs some trash bags, gloves, and grabbers and splits up, walking around and collecting trash littered on the ground.
Doing this project with other people can make you feel confident and make it fun, too. You’ll be breezing through your section, eager to move on to the next.
When you bring along people you love, you can create sustainable habits together. You are cleaning up your city for you and all the people you care about. You’re the ones directly affected by litter in your city, so by organizing a clean-up, you’re benefiting your environment directly. Seeing these changes on a community level can help remind us of the real impact that sustainable practices can have on the environment and the big change just a few people can make.
3. Start a Garden
Gardening is a useful and beautiful hobby that you can enjoy year-round. Whether you choose to plant aesthetic flowers or yummy produce and herbs, a garden is the gift that keeps giving.
By planting vegetables and herbs, you’ll save yourself trips to the grocery store and get fresh produce whenever you want it.
Gardening helps you to practice self-sustainability, too. With many places suffering from food disparity, learning how to be self-sufficient can ease some anxiety about access to food. You can even donate some of your crops to people in need.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your confidence and skills grow as you continue to learn about cultivating food and flowers. Plus, Earth Day is a great time to start a garden just in time for blossoming produce in the summertime.
4. Decorate Your Reusable Water Bottle
Another fun project that you can take part in on Earth Day is decorating your reusable water bottle. Instead of buying plastic water by the case, you can consider investing in a reusable water bottle for you and your loved ones.
Metal bottles help people to stay hydrated more easily throughout the day and limit plastic production and consumption. While plastic water bottles may be convenient, metal water bottles are even more convenient. Lugging a 24-pack of water bottles from our car to our doors? No, thank you.
If you need a little motivation to use your reusable bottle, spend Earth Day with your friends decorating it. When you have something eye-catching, memorable, and totally you, it’s harder to forget about drinking water as you go about your day.
You’ll be drinking more water and helping the environment. How fun is that?
5. Bike Instead of Driving
One of our last suggestions for your Earth Day celebration comes down to transportation—namely, the most fun transportation around.
Car pollution is real and impacts the air that we breathe every day. To combat pollution and the use of gasoline, consider biking as a way to get around. If you are close enough to your job, hop on your bike and get some exercise as you cut back on your emissions impact.
If you don’t bike, consider walking (if possible) or even hopping on public transportation. This cuts back the number of fuels being used, benefiting the air around you. Plus, getting outside and enjoying that fresh air can help boost your mood and help you connect with the Earth around you. What better way to celebrate Mother Earth than some quality bonding time?
6. Sign-up with Thistle
If you think you spend too much time throwing out food or eating out, consider signing up with Thistle. We provide customers with delicious plant-based meals that are good for you and the environment, and we’ve always got sustainability in mind.
Food waste is a huge issue in the United States. With Thistle, you can reduce your food waste and support more local farmers. Want to try to be more sustainable this year with your food consumption? Thistle can help!
Conclusion
We celebrate Earth Day to remind people that we can make an impact on our planet. It’s a team effort to make a positive change, and Earth Day allows everyone to learn more about our goal: preserving our Earth.
It can be overwhelming to make a change alone, but thankfully, we are not an island. Taking baby steps one day at a time can go a long way, and Earth Day is a wonderful day to start.
While every day is a new day when we can protect the environment, planning and setting goals for the year ahead on April 22 can help you take control over your household’s sustainability practices 24/7, 365 days a year 🌍
Sources:
The History and Importance of Earth Day | Environmental Center | University of Colorado Boulder
Impacts of Climate Change | US EPA
Feeding Urban Communities: A Look at Disparities in Food Access and Nutritional Consumption | U Penn
