There are some years where one Earth Day is enough, when the news cycle isn’t dominated by a huge topic of Earth shattering importance. 2020, it obviously doesn’t work that way. We need a whole week’s worth of green activities in order to appreciate what really matters in life when viewed from a longer-term perspective than 30 day increments. So, take a few days to get into that green feeling. Here are 5 tips that can help you make Earth Week 2020 on truly to remember!
Tip 1: Get some really green exercise.
Sure, you can get cardio on a home treadmill if you’re lucky enough to own one, but why not find a park or hiking area that is still open and take a hike? In the San Francisco Bay Area, some open space nature preserves are closed weekends only, and as long as you maintain 6 feet distance and adhere to simple to follow rules, you are free to wander just as before. April and May are ideal for wildflower viewing, and the coastal views from the higher ridgetops isn’t to shabby, either. Check out the Irish Ridge overlook trail, in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, for quiet trails, stunning views, and lots of blooming grasses and flowers to enjoy.
Tip 2: Do some really green shopping – at home.
Flower decorating is a nearly lost art, one that can be practiced well without leaving one’s yard to do so. Just grab a clipper or kitchen scissors and make a selection of tree branches, fern fronds, plant tips, and other newly grown things and put them in an attractive vase for brightening up your new office workspaces at home. It is a fun activity to do with young children, as well!
Tip 3: Do some really green cooking – with foraged foods.
If you know basic foraging skills, you can find items to eat outside your home, like wild nettles. They can become the basis for soups, pesto sauce, or used as ingredients in egg omelettes, among other things. Sorrel, miner’s lettuce, and mushrooms are other likely candidates. Foraging is fun, too, and nutritious!
Tip 4: Find a really green office workspace – to share.
If you have to work from home, why not do so outside? Especially if you can work side by side using laptops connected by wifi to the Internet, what is the problem? Going green doesn’t mean forgetting how and why we all stay connected. Just be sure to add value to the work-from-home experience rather than take it away. Who wouldn’t want to work from home on a warm and pleasant Earth Day?
Tip 5: Do some really green activity to wind things down – without electricity.
Once work, exercise, shopping, and cooking are over, wind down by powering down with a game, book, knitting project, or simple face-to-face conversation with a friend, family member, or loved one. Even a pet will do. The key is to choose an activity that is, by definition, “green.” Worry about climate change next year – or next month. For now, there is enough to worry about not to take the “celebrate” part of Earth Day seriously. Stretch that celebrate out. Make it last. I know I will.
