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Ways to Spend Your Earth Day
This year, Earth Day falls on April 22. Like in years past, it is a great time to take an intentional step towards sustainability. During this day, people across the world come together and dedicate time towards helping our planet. In this article, we will explore that commitment and brainstorm ways you can participate this year.
There are some general activities you can do during Earth Day at home to contribute:
- Going Dark – Turn off any and all nonessential lighting and electronics during Earth Hour on March 25, lasting from 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm local time. To avoid vampire power, also turn off surge protectors or unplug devices.
- Get Involved – Earth Hour is part of a worldwide initiative with countless citizens and countries participating in it.1 You will likely be able to find a local Earth Hour event to tag along in, or you could coordinate your own!
- Night Classes – Research more about how you can help the planet, read up on local or global environmental news, even consider looking at a nature documentary. Use this time to get more familiar with the world and how you can live more sustainably in it.
- Cook up Something Special – There are ways to eat which are both healthy for you and the environment! Explore some delicious and nutritious recipes to make a sustainable dinner with friends or family. You could cook it all yourself or have everyone cook a separate dish and host a sustainable potluck!
- Earn your Green Thumb – What better time than spring to set up your garden for the year? Whether that's in your backyard, at a community garden, or on your kitchen windowsill, you can use this time for both research and preparation. No soil pots? Make your own! The USDA also has plenty of gardening guides you can read through during this time.
- Support your Local Farmers –Shopping at these can allow you to obtain sustainable ingredients, support local business and reduce emissions associated with food transportation all at once. Make sure to use a reusable bag while shopping and don’t rely on gas-powered transportation, if possible.
NIH will be celebrating Earth Day on April 25, please review the Earth Day webpage to learn more about the range of activities to attend and participate in.
Are you able to Take Action this month? We want to see! Send us a picture of you carrying out one of these ideas and we might feature it in a future article. If you look closely, there are five GREEN Bingo tiles mentioned in just this article alone!
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The NIH Green Zone Newsletter is a publication intended to inform NIH staff about the Division of Environmental Protection and NIH Green Teams projects and initiatives. The text contained in this newsletter is not copyrighted and can be reprinted without permission. If you use portions of this newsletter in your own publication, we ask that you please credit the source. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Thank you.
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Division of Environmental Protection | Office of Research Facilities | Office of Management
National Institutes of Health | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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