30 Days of Earth Day

It’s Earth Month

Welcome to spring and the marvelous month of April. Earth Day is on April 22, and Arbor Day is on April 30. What can we all do to make April special? Small actions by many can make a big difference. So how can we all make a daily difference? Whether you have meatless days, pick up litter, leave your car at home, plant for butterflies or go plastic-free, make everyday Earth special.

Everyday Is Earth Day

By Kelly Roper

Every day is earth day,
Or at least it should be.
We should take steps every day
to save our planet, don’t you agree?

Try walking when it’s practical,
And skip driving a car.
It will help cut down emissions
And raise air quality by far.

Reuse, renew, recycle,
Think of how much you throw away.
Our earth can only hold so much trash,
One day there’ll be the devil to pay.

And when it comes to littering,
It’s not enough to clean up after yourself.
Leave places better than you find them,
And pick up litter left by someone else.

Don’t spray your garden with pesticides,
Protect the birds and the bees.
Choose natural ways of deterring pests,
That won’t carry poisons in the breeze.

These are easy things we all can do,
To protect the earth for future generations.
If we continue to ignore all the warning signs,
We’ll face sad and irreversible ramifications.

Actions for Happiness Calendar for April follows:

Reading List:

Facts about trees

Climate Activist Spends More Than Year Picking Up Trash – EcoWatch

U.S. lawmakers target plastic pollution, producers in new legislation | Reuters

Butterfly: A Life | National Geographic – Bing video

How to Attract Butterflies (joyfulbutterfly.com)

Butterfly Plants: 16 Plants To Turn Your Backyard Into A Butterfly Paradise (bloomingbackyard.com)

Water: How to Stop Undervaluing a Precious Resource and Be Ready for the Future – EcoWatch

30 Day April Challenge

Styrofoam/polystyrene. I picked out of a lake!

April is Earth Month
April is a month of challenges. Challenges of 30 days of biking or running, 30 days of plastic-free, 30 days of watching birds. 30 days of taking a daily picture, or thirty days of writing a poem for poetry month. The thirty-day challenges are endless.

My April challenge is 30 days of picking up trash. The snow has melted and the swollen rivers are subsiding but our beautiful Earth is covered with litter. It is embarrassing to see so much trash and blowing pieces of plastic. Everyday on my walk in April I carry a bag and collect litter, and actually I started my challenge a few days ago. This year I’m looking extra hard for the small plastic scraps like cigarette butts and Styrofoam pieces. This challenge is easier than some of the other 30 day challenges, but this challenge gets you outside, and it really makes a difference for our Earth. Please join me.

April 22 is Earth Day and April 26 is Arbor Day. Please make everyday April day Earth Day.
Have a fun Earth Month, and remember to enjoy our beautiful our Earth.

Get your 30 days of Active April calendar from Actions For Happiness here.

30 Day Challenge

Healthy Planet=Healthy People

This is the best 30 day challenge ever! Spend 30 minutes outside everyday for 30 days.

“Want to feel healthier, happier and more peaceful? Add a daily dose of nature to your routine.

Most of us spend too much time in front of screens and too little time outdoors. It’s time to fall (back) in love with nature!

This May, the David Suzuki Foundation is challenging you and people around the world to join the 30×30 Challenge by spending 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days. Our goal is simple: to reconnect human beings with nature for the sake of their health and mental well-being.” David Suzuki

Take the challenge here

Happy May, get out and enjoy!

Walk* Bike *Garden*Bird Watch* Breathe* Love the earth

http://30×30.davidsuzuki.org/

The first day of the challenge I saw a painted lady and red admiral butterflies, and a

swimming otter. I heard lots of woodpeckers and chickadees.

The following letter was printed in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on April 3,

Our planet, Literally Trashed

One of the revelations to come out of the Flight 370 tragedy is the sorry condition of our oceans. One headline noted that the search for the plane was hindered by a “sea of garbage.” On a recent trip to Ohio from our Burnsville home, I was shocked to see the garbage littering the highways after the winter thaw. I saw a car bumper, a vacuum cleaner, tires, mattresses and thousands of plastic bags. Yes, global warming is a threat to this planet and the solutions are complex, but the solution to the trashing of our planet is relatively simple. We need to take responsibility for the waste that we generate. A good start would be the end of plastic-bag use on the part of our retailers. Target, Wal-Mart and others: Spend the extra 3 cents a bag and help in the cleaning up of our planet.

Don Lohrey, Burnsville

My letter in response: Printed on April 4,

To the editor:

I too have been on a road trip through the middle of our country and the plastic bags littering the landscape is disheartening(In response to Our planet, literally trashed 4/2) Personal responsibility is needed to get those plastic bags and all trash recycled. Also, businesses need offer recycling opportunities for individuals away from home. Hennepin County offers grants to businesses to improve their recycling. Look on their website.

For the next 30 days I challenge each of you to “Thirty Days of Earth Day.” Please pick up one piece of trash or more for the next 30 days. Yes, each one of us can make a difference.

Health4earth.com

For 30 Days of Earth Day, pick up one piece of trash or more everyday for 30 days https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pick-up-One-Piece-of-Trash-a-Day/267910856667805