Before the pandemic, most of us, who lived under the regime of modernity, were more separated from nature than ever. Fast-paced urban life made it more difficult for us to experience the pleasure of connecting ourselves to natural surroundings. We often forget about the greatness of nature and what we have lost as generations go by.
This Earth Day, let us embrace our mother nature and remind ourselves to be a little kinder to our beautiful planet.
What is Earth Day?
Celebrated by millions around the world, Earth Day is an annual event marked on 22nd April since 1970. It is established to spotlight the critical environmental challenges facing our planet and call for stronger public awareness, ranging from air pollution to climate crisis.
The theme for Earth day 2021 is ‘Restore Our Earth’. Aiming not only at the urgency to minimize our negative impacts on the planet because of our recovery efforts for the post-effects of Covid-19, but also the role we can play in fixing the damage we’ve done to the planet.
It’s never too late to have a little reflection and a rethink. Concerns about the pandemic should not be another excuse to stop yourself from saving the planet. Get yourself started from today! Embracing nature and incorporating it into every aspect of our daily life can be more beneficial than you can imagine.
Here are some ideas for you to celebrate Earth Day!
1. Invest your time in a personal or family digital detox.
The ‘digital detox’ can be regarded as an opportunity to foster engaged communication and interaction in the physical world, usually by voluntarily refrain yourself from digital devices. So, on this Earth Day, there’s never been a better way to go for an entire day with all digital devices unplugged completely. Use this great time to focus on your loved ones, and to bathe in nature you’ve once neglected. Replace the likes and notifications with hugs and smiles in real-time. And by all means, get outside and enjoy the joy of nature!
2. Have a daily green hour.
Nature is close at hand —— on your balcony, in your garden, at the park or playground, even in the sidewalk cracks. Set aside time daily or weekly for yourself and your family to interact with the natural world. Start with 15 or 30 minutes, then make it your daily routine. Instead of a task to be done, this time should be personal or family time to get closer to one another, and of course to nature. So, make it fun, and unleash your creativity. For example, set a theme for the activity, or dress up to get yourself immersed in nature.
3. Start living as an eco-minimalist.
You’ve heard of eco-friendly, and you’ve heard of minimalism. But, what about eco-minimalism? Practicing eco-minimalism is to be more environmentally conscious when consuming any resources, regardless if it’s recyclable or reusable. Always plan and question if you really need the item before making an impulse purchase. Bring the consciousness of ‘less is more,’ and natural things inside your home. Replace buying with borrowing, search for secondhand at thrift stores, or buying from a sustainable source. If you are willing to put in the extra time and effort to reduce waste, turning food waste into garden treasure by food composting is another good idea to experiment with.
4. Have a picnic.
Sometimes you can be so caught up in work that you forget how enjoyable it is to have a wonderful meal by yourself or with your family. Take advantage of Earth Day! If you have a backyard or park nearby, spend the afternoon outdoors having a picnic. Pack your meal —— perhaps pocket sandwiches and fruits in reusable containers, take along a basket, bug spray, and tablecloth. Don’t forget to bring reusable cups and plates. You can even simply sit there, close your eyes, take deep breaths, and just appreciate the moment.
5. Create a treasure hunt for your kids.
In terms of getting kids to be familiar with nature, one important thing is they don’t need much guidance. Instead, encourage them to discover the world around them, then stand back and let them do it. You can list items likely to be found in your natural surroundings. Then, make copies of the list and hand-drawn maps for the kids to collect their ‘treasure’. But don’t forget to keep an eye on them.
Here are some ideas: a heart-shaped stone, a bird feather, a flower with eight petals, and 10 pieces of trash. Kids are unquestionably more engaged if weird or uncommon items are included on your list. Make it means more than just a game, remind our future masters to respect and love the natural surroundings.
6. Slow down, look around.
Covid-19 reminds us that every moment we have lived should not be taken for granted. You might feel dull and bored for not being able to travel, but let’s slow down in life, live and breathe. Take a good look around you, and enjoy the simple pleasures in life that you’ve forgotten. It can be a blooming flower, a row of chipping sparrows, or the most beautiful sunrise you have ever seen. Once you stop rushing through life, you will realize that the present moment is all precious memories you ever have.
While you’ve had to cancel your vacation plan during the pandemic, let’s dive into the natural world with these beautiful colors surrounding us in our daily lives.
Red is the warmest and the most dynamic color as it evokes opposing emotions, such as love and passion, as well as danger and war. Not only heightened awareness, but this color also inhibits relaxation and energy by increasing breathing rates, metabolism, and blood circulation.
Sharing red’s energetic vibe, but is not as overwhelming. Orange is definitely the most representative color for portraying youthfulness and excitement, enhancing a feeling of vitality and health. Its emotionally strong presence makes it a fabulous color to promote relationship building and connection between one another.
Perhaps yellow is the happiest color of the warm colors, reminding people of hope, sunshine, and laughter. Like how sunflowers impress people with their revitalization, accents of yellow make you feel cheerful and optimistic to face any challenge.
Mostly representing the natural environment and stability, green is the most balanced color which makes it a good bridge between warm, stimulating colors (red, orange, and yellow) and cool, calming colors (blue and purple). It can also feel refreshed and relaxing.
It’s no surprise that the color blue is one of the most popular colors. Blue is the color of serenity, calmness, trustworthy. Seeing the color blue frequently helps your body to create calming chemicals, giving you greater spirituality and lesser mental pressure.
As the color associated with luxury, purple might give you a sense of elegance, mystery, or expensiveness. But, lighter shades of purple can also impress you with its romance and spring vibe. For instance, lavender and the starry night.
With its ties to the earth and trees, the color brown always brings to mind an outdoorsy, sturdy feel. Especially when it is paired with green or white, it’s warm, practical, and makes you feel down to earth. The most important thing is, it reminds you to appreciate every little thing you have!
White is the most neutral color of all. It gives you a sense of innocence, purity, and minimalism. Although this color is softer and even less noticeable, it can be a standalone existence to be among other objects in the natural surroundings.
Final Word
It’s great to have a yearly reminder, but there are small things that we, as children of the mother planet, can do every day to show our appreciation and love. You can do more than you think to help save our mother earth.
Wanting to spread awareness and celebrating Earth Day with your friends and family? Here are some Earth Day templates available for you to spread some love and message. Make today, and every day Earth Day!
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