Helping the environment is easy! Becca Zak, a Summit Metro Parks naturalist, has come up with some tips to make an impact and enjoy nature at the same time. There are also a few recipes for all-natural cleaners and weed killer. Try one — or a few — in honor of Earth Day!
Plant a garden!
Produce your own food this spring and summer. This one initiative will improve your health by eating fresh food, get you outside and reduce food waste.
Plant native!
Using native plants — like goldenrod, aster and milkweed — in your yard provides a food source for our local pollinators. Natives also promote a more biologically-rich area. Don’t fret — deer will leave the majority of them be.
Get outside!
Mother Nature provides serious benefits to our bodies and minds! Reduce stress, get some fresh air, keep your body moving and activate all your senses.
Install a rain barrel… or two!
Just a half inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot roof yields 300 gallons of water. Lower your water bill, reduce runoff and water pollution, and be an example of environmental stewardship by installing a rain barrel.
Produce less trash!
Reusable products keep trash out of our landfills, which are the single-largest man-made source of methane gas in the United States. Start by making the change from baggies and disposable takeout containers to reusable food containers; plastic water bottles to reusable water bottles; and plastic grocery bags to cloth bags.
Start a compost bin!
The decomposition of organic material in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas that traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Divert yard and food waste — which make up 30% of the waste stream — from landfills and naturally fertilize your garden.
Unplug!
The majority of energy in Ohio is produced by burning coal. Avoiding electronics for one day will save about 41 pounds of coal from being burned… and you’ll likely be out enjoying the natural world anyway!
Eat fresh, non-processed food!
If everyone in the United States went vegetarian for just one day, we would prevent 1.2 million tons of CO2. This single-day amount is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions produce by France in one year.
Travel wisely!
Walking and biking are carbon-neutral and are good exercise. You save one pound of carbon dioxide for each mile of driving you eliminate. If you carpool with just one other person, travel costs will be cut in half. If you carpool with 2… See where we’re going with this?
Think green when you clean!
Avoid the chemicals and toxins found in traditional home cleaners and replace them with something more natural that’s just as effective.
Try your hand at this all-purpose cleaner, made with ingredients you probably already have at home. Your health and the environment thank you!
All-Purpose Cleaner
- 1 gallon hot water
- 1 Tbsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp liquid soap
- 1 Tbsp borax (optional)
Clean green AND kill weeds?!
Make this toxin-free citrus cleaner to clean up the greasiest jobs. Simply add a few more ingredients to make a non-selective weed killer.
Toxin-Free Citrus Cleaner
- Vinegar
- Citrus Peels
- Large container
- Rosemary or mint (optional)
- Grab a big jar.
- Enjoy citrus, like grapefruit, oranges, lemons, etc., and toss the leftover peels into jar. Add rosemary or mint (optional).
- Fill the jar with white vinegar.
- Wait 2 weeks and strain liquid.
- Mix with water for an all-purpose grease cleaner, or use undiluted for really greasy jobs.
Toxin-Free Non-Selective Weed Killer
- 1 cup citrus cleaner (see recipe above)
- 1 Tbsp citric acid
- ¼ tsp liquid dish soap
Mix ingredients and apply.
There are many more ways to “go green,” not just on Earth Day, but also every day of the year.
How are you helping the environment? Are you going to try any of the tips or recipes above? Let us know below. Then unplug and get outside!