Looking for some new ways to give back to Mother Nature?
Here are 12 fun ideas to help you help the earth.
1. Raise some Chickens!
Raising chickens provides more than fresh eggs! Chickens create some of the best compost around! If you allow your chickens to free-range, some birds will help do the required turning for you!
Source: Shutterstock
Whether you are newly considering housing chickens or looking to revamp your current coop, a chicken tractor may be a great idea for you. It allows you to spread the manure around your yard or garden by simply wheeling the coop to new areas. The chickens also get access to fresh grass, weeds, and bugs as they move with it.
2. Give Worms a Try!
Chickens are fun but messy, expensive, and possibly illegal, depending on your local ordinances. For an inexpensive way to compost, worms can do an equally impressive job. Various companies sell live worms.
Worm houses are as simple as storage totes with a little bit of dirt, water, and drainage holes. You can make them yourself! Feed the worms once a week with your leftover food scraps that would otherwise go into landfills. In no time, that waste will become high-quality compost.
3. Plant a Tree…Again!
Source: Shutterstock
Yes, you may have learned this idea back in grade school, but it may be time to amp up your planting. Did you know that the average American citizen’s carbon footprint is at least twice the size of citizens in other areas of the globe?
The Give Back to Nature Project teaches that even homeless people have a large carbon footprint. It would require each of us planting 1,000 trees to offset the damage we cause! Time to plant another tree…or two, or one thousand!
4. Start Plogging
Source: Shutterstock
Do you like to get outdoors to exercise? The plogging craze began in Sweden, but it is now expanding worldwide because it helps your body and the environment. Quite simply, it is picking up (or plucking) litter as you jog. It’s a win-win situation for you and the environment!
5. Workout Outdoors
Use your own energy rather than the electricity from gym equipment. Hiking is a great way to add fitness to your schedule. It also allows for conversation with others and appreciation for nature.
6. BEE a good friend to the plants
Source: Shutterstock
It is no secret that bees are pollinators that are responsible for much of nature’s beauty, but did you know bees are in trouble? Here’s how you can help:
- Plant or protect wildflowers or large meadows
- Provide trays of sugar water for bees to quench their thirst while searching for flowers
- Post “No Spraying” signs to prevent pesticides from reaching your area
- Consider beekeeping, but be sure to maintain proper hygiene, as dirty hives are a cause for numerous diseases and pests that spread to other colonies
7. Invite Butterflies
Butterflies are a slightly more attractive pollinator. Attract them to your yard with native plants and flowers. If you want to inspire a future generation to love nature as much as you do, consider providing an up-close-and-personal experience for your children. Milkweed is a prolific plant on which you can find monarch caterpillars.
Visit a plant daily to watch the caterpillars grow. Just be careful not to disturb the plant or animals too much. Before you know it, you and your children can witness the formation of a beautiful, green chrysalis. If you are lucky, you can even watch the butterfly emerge after about a week! Plant some more milkweek for even more beauty.
8. Eat Local
Source: Shutterstock
We’ve all heard that we should try to walk, bike, or carpool to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions, but eating local provides a similar benefit. Did you know that some of the produce in your local grocery store traveled over 5,000 miles?
9. Donate to Thrift Shops
Donate your unwanted goods to a local thrift shop to keep them out of landfills. Even out-of-style clothing can serve a greater purpose by being recycled into new fibers or stuffing. That means even your worn and tattered Backstreet Boy t-shirt from a concern in the ’90s can be used again — just not for fashion.
10. Shop at Thrift Shops
Source: Shutterstock
With thrift shops in mind, don’t be embarrassed to do some shopping while you’re there! You can reuse items, too!
11. Put Your Social Media to Work
Social media is a great place to share pictures of your chef-inspired meal creations and the latest places you’ve visited. Why not use it for something even greater?
Go ahead and brag! Show friends and families the environmentally conscious products you use, the clean-up projects in which you’ve participated, and the pictures of nature you’ve admired while on a walk. Environmental activism doesn’t have to be big to be powerful.
12. Go Online
Source: Shutterstock
The Internet, in general, is a great way to reduce your waste. You can bank online to save paper. You can shop online to save gas from travel. You can even work out with a group of friends online to reduce both the transportation and equipment use! Bonus: you can do it all in your pajamas if you please!
Giving back to Mother Nature can be both rewarding and fun! Give one or two of these a try to make a big difference.
