Earth Day Is Everyday!
Abby Stanley
Happy Earth day everyone!! Today is the day set aside to celebrate the natural world around us. Although I feel every day is earth day, I love the excuse to get on my soap box about the environment, so here we go.. I’ll make it short.. if I can.
Whether earth day means anything to you or not, I can guarantee you’ve enjoyed the bounties of our natural world in some way or another. Whether you notice it or not, plants are probably responsible for or play a role in most aspects of your life.
It can feel overwhelming when talking about the environment on a large scale, but honestly the best way we can affect change in our lives and our planet’s is to make a garden. Gardens are the bridge between the natural world and our complicated human lives now. We have a home, or even if it’s an apartment (yes, indoor gardening is impactful too!) and the best thing we can do is make our space more green. The more plants around us the better our lives will be and those around us.. don’t take my word for it.. it’s science!! Google it! Plants are healing. Studies show having plants around us make us more productive, attentive, calm, happy, less irritable, less selfish, less stressed! I think we could all use some of that. Plants have been shown to heal the sick.. suddenly terminal patients are better after someone brought a plant to the hospital room when the doctors had given up.. super powerful stuff! Whether or not you are religious or not, it’s bigger than us. Plants have a purpose! We have been given gifts and tools to help us in our lives and we’ve been ignoring them. We spend more time in front of the TV than we do in our gardens, parks, yards, forests, with plants. No I’m not trying to shame you, I love Netflix as much as anyone, but we could all use more beneficial things in our lives and less toxic.
No matter your situation you can bring nature into your home and it will be impactful! It will change your life for the positive I promise you that. One of my favorite authors on the subject is Doug Tallamy. Read any and all of his books if you can! He argues that it is our duty to nourish the world that in turn, nourishes us. He talks a lot about this subject and the importance of natives, biodiversity, ecological habitats, etc. I could go on and on, but I just mainly want to stress that you can start anywhere. Whether you have a house with a yard or not. Fill your space around you, inside or out, with more plants (except invasive ones of course!) and watch it grow. Watch your life bloom. Life can be hard. Plants help. It’s time we help them too.
If you are an avid gardener already, maybe it’s time to start thinking of the impact you have. Maybe it’s time to make your garden a habitat for pollinators and biodiversity. If you care about that sort of thing, plant a tree!!!!!! My goodness plant a tree! We all think of blooming perennials and wildflowers when we think of pollinators but trees are the most important plants for insects by far! White Oaks support over 500 species of Lepidoptera (caterpillatrs/butterflies). That’s just one example, the list goes on. While it’s not the ideal time to plant trees, it’s helpful to start thinking about the ways you can adapt your yard to be a haven for life as well as your escape. In the busy, developed world we live in, our gardens are like water in the desert to pollinators, insects, and animals that are crucial to our food web, environment and planet. Sometimes starting small can be the best way to make meaningful changes on a large scale.
What can you do?
-More plants! Obviously
-Choose natives when possible! There are so many amazing native plants in our region. No, it doesn’t have to be straight species, nativars are fine too.
-Choose plants with alternating bloom times (spring, summer, fall, winter) so that you’ll always have something with nectar
-Diversify your plants!!!! Diversity of plant life = diversity of all life
-Refrain from using harmful chemicals in the garden.. we don’t sell toxic outdoor insecticides for a reason! I know weeding is tough, believe me, but the alternative is worse for the environment and has far reaching consequences
-Compost your food scraps! Coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels are excellent sources of key minerals that plants need.
-Leave your seed heads on your Echinacea and other plants.. they are important food for songbirds.
-In the fall when leaves fall off your deciduous trees, let them biodegrade naturally.. leaf litter is excellent source of nutrients for plants and habitat for hibernating insects/animals in the winter. There is a natural cycle that works for a reason! Yes, I know it looks messy, maybe just leave the backyard if you can! Give and take where necessary. Any change is better than nothing.
-Spread the word. Educate yourself and others! Teach your children the importance of gardening, growing plants, and the natural world. Teach your parents, grandparents, the lady at the supermarket! It’s important, but also, it’s healing. Let’s get out and be good humans and garden like your life depends on it, because honestly, a lot of lives do. The future of the planet does. Everything we do now will affect the world to come. That may be a scary and daunting thought, but may be an encouraging and beautiful one too?