Fun Ways to Celebrate Earth Day This Year

Photo credit: Bikes for Earth Day: Flickr, FaceMePLS

Cities all over the world roll out the green carpet for Earth Day on April 22nd, in an effort to raise awareness of environmental protection. Whether you’re working or traveling this Earth Day, there are multiple ways you can help celebrate and show your support for environmental protection.

Take a Bike Instead of Driving

Whether you’re headed to work or touring a new city this Earth Day, consider ways to reduce your carbon footprint. If work is nearby, ride your bike or walk to work. If driving is your only option, make the effort to find a carpool group – consider keeping it going every day, not just on Earth Day.

If you’re traveling, forego the subway, taxi, or rental car and hop on a bike or walk around town. Many big cities offer public bike rentals – it’s a fun way to explore a new city.

Stay at an Eco-Resort

If you’re going to be traveling over Earth Day, make the extra effort to book an eco-friendly hotel, especially as they might be hosting special Earth Day events. Some people mistakenly think that eco-friendly is the equivalent of roughing it. In most cases, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of the best eco-friendly resorts are high-end luxury resorts, offering top of the line amenities, all while helping the environment in new and innovative ways.

For a fun bonus, look for resorts that offer special unique touches to make your Earth Day even more special. Maybe it’s a community outreach program or volunteer opportunity.

Attend an Earth Day Event

Cities all over the country – and the world – are hosting events for Earth Day. Some events are being held on April 22nd, but also check for events on the weekend as well since Earth Day falls on a Friday in 2016. If you’re looking for a listing of global events, check Earthday.org.

Volunteer at an Earth Day Event

Rather than just attend an Earth Day event, volunteer at one! Many Earth Day events need additional volunteers to help with both the planning and execution of festivities. Volunteers might assist with everything from checking in vendors, greeting event guests, assisting with technical/stage management, crowd flow and even social media.

Cook a Special Earth Day Meal

If you plan to be home on Earth Day, consider cooking a special themed menu. Choose locally produced, in-season ingredients that are healthy and organically grown. Choose locally farmed organic meat rather than meat from large, mass-farmed meat.

Plant Something

Planting a tree is a common and fun way to celebrate Earth Day. Planting a tree or bush not only helps beautify your landscape, but it also helps offset global warming. If you’ve been contemplating starting a garden, even just with a few small herbs and/or vegetables, get yourself motivated and use Earth Day as your deadline to get them in. If you have kids, be sure to include them in the planting process.

Keep Earth Day Going

Rather than implementing changes or reducing your carbon footprint one day a year, make Earth Day the starting point to make changes in your lifestyle year-round. Whether it’s small changes like reducing the amount of water you use on a daily basis or volunteering with environmental organizations, every little bit helps. Are you traveling most of the year and stay in hotels a lot? Most hotels now offer guests the option to only have their bedding changed every few days and for towels to be reused as well. Even the smallest change in your regular behavior can help make an environmental difference.

How to you travel "green?"

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