Happy Earth Day! The first was in 1970, organized by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. More than 20 million people took to the streets to rally for environmental awareness! This act helped kickstart our modern environmental movement. Here are some simple ways you can honor Mother Earth… 
I like to think Earth Day is every day, but we can really call attention to some special things you can do to celebrate our great planet on April 22 every year. Here are my top tips for a healthy planet which helps create healthy humans too:
- Eat Local foods! Did you know that on average, our American produced food travels over 1500 miles before we find it in our local store? That’s a lot of carbon output for the planet to handle, and decreased nutrition for you, as produce is best when fresh. Think of the global distance internationally produced foods travel! Local, in season foods means the freshest, healthiest options for you. It also means a much lighter carbon load for Mother Earth.
- Plant a garden! It may be the ultimate way to Eat Local ! You’ll get the freshest, tastiest foods at your disposal, no transportation (or very little) required! And, gardening itself has multiple health benefits from stress relief to actually touching the soil and getting beneficial, health promoting micro-organisms! Do it barefoot and you’ll get some great grounding time in too!
- Speaking of Grounding… get out and enjoy nature! Just being exposed to n
ature can have dramatic health impacts. Sit down on the ground or even just get your bare feet in the soil or sand and soak up some negatively charged electrons from the earth (Momma has plenty, don’t worry…) and you’ll be taking advantage of the most powerful antioxidant we know of yet! Studies show that direct contact with Earth can improve blood pressure, reduce inflammation and pain, normalize the body’s biological rhythms, promote calmness and reduce stress, increase energy and improve sleep, just to name a few! - Use Glass! A reusable container for drinking or storing food is better for the planet, and eliminates exposure to BPA from plastics, which is known to be an endocrine disruptor. Healthy hormones for you and less waste for Momma Earth is a WIN-WIN in my book.
- Get Thrifty! We’ve all heard we need to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle! Did you know they are listed in that order for a reason? Reduce, as in reducing your impact is the most influential item and first on the list. Reduce your impact on the environment by buying less stuff! Reuse or repair items, rather than throwing them away saves space in the landfill and means less to buy. You can do the first 2 R’s by shopping 2nd hand! It reduces your purchasing of new items, and reuses something. And it’s better on the budget– bonus! Better yet, commit to not buying anything new for a certain time period; say a week. Maybe a month? Can you do it for an entire year? I did that in 2010! The challenge is on folks! How long can you go without buying anything NEW? (food excepted of course!) Visit me on facebook or in the comments below to let me know if you’ve accepted the challenge and how long you are committing! What are you doing to leave our planet in better shape?
