Happy Earth (Every) Day

Earth DayWhen I wrote this Earth Day post, I was anti-lists. I usually shy away from offering how-to lists because there are so many circulating already – and I figured that if given information about something, people would naturally extrapolate for themselves what to do.

For example, I know trees absorb CO2, retain soil and clean water while providing habitat, oxygen and food. Learning, then, that 4 billion trees are cut down yearly seems to naturally lead to different choices around wood-related products.

So yes, here’s a list – the changes we made as a family based on what we learned. Feel free to borrow or let it be a catalyst for launching your own list!

  1. When my first child was born almost 12 years ago, we stopped buying paper towels and napkins and purchased cloth ones from the thrifty instead. This was such an easy transition. There really isn’t any need for paper towels or napkins. Just like the other cloth items you use, wash when soiled. Here’s something I learned the hard way, though: if you cook bacon, use a thicker kitchen towel, use that towel only for bacon and don’t wash it with regular clothes. 😉
  2. We buy recycled toilet paper – meaning it’s made from recycled paper, not previously used (I’m not that  hardcore).
  3. With the exception of our dining room and bedroom furniture, both presents, all our furniture is used. We got some funky retro couches from a local store and the kids’ bedroom furniture is from Craigslist. I like supporting our local economy and no trees had to be cut down to meet our needs.
  4. Knowing food production is a large driver of deforestation prompts us to get our meat from small, local farms, to eat less meat, and to avoid products with palm oil. The expense of local meat is offset by other items purchased used or that we go without – paper towels and napkins, for example.
  5. We reuse paper. Having three daughters, I get reams of information from school. We use the backs in our printer or for artwork. Mail that’s printed front only also goes in the printer.
  6. At work, when generating reports or making copies, use colored paper when you can. It has a higher recycled content than white, which is mostly virgin pulp. Also, set your printer to default to front/back, rather than front only. Lastly, consider widening margins to narrow on computers so that more content fits on a page, thereby reducing the amount of pages. Your company could also team up with Staples to do an audit which will end up reducing your energy consumption, as well.
  7. Having kept a journal since I can’t remember when, I was thrilled to discover ECOJOT at a favorite local store. Whenever it’s time to buy school supplies, though, I buy as much recycled and used as possible. Surprisingly, you can find unused notebooks, binders, etc. at thrift stores and estate sales.
  8.  Buying used and non-disposable products also benefits trees because I’m avoiding the manufacturing of paperboard and cardboard packaging – both tree-based resources. As an added bonus, my products aren’t shipped from who knows where, burning up the planet to get to me. It simply doesn’t make sense to cut down CO2-absorbing trees in Malaysia for wood based products, then ship them via CO2-burning energy all over the world. This is suicide on a planetary scale.
  9. Lastly, I pay attention to trees and point my children’s gaze to them. We hike in all seasons so they can experience trees and understand that everything has seasons, including themselves. We count birds’ nests in bare winter trees. I encourage my girls to climb trees and build shelters from fallen branches. They delight in springtime petals from the neighbor’s tulip tree which thickly coat the street like fragrant snow. The youngest makes fairy wings from the delicate, sweet-smelling mimosa flowers and nothing beats standing under a dogwood in full bloom, inhaling and looking up through pale pink leaves at a blue sky.
  10. We pick peaches, nectarines and apples from trees in late summer and fall. We gather fall leaves, filling vases with endless color combinations. I want them to hold in their memory (as I do in mine) walking to and from school shuffling through piles of leaves – the smell and sound of fall.

I want my children to learn the names of trees and to be able to identify leaves on their own. I want them to know which trees grow in this patch of earth we call home so when they move away, they will be rooted in the topography that helped shape them. I want my children to love trees. They cannot protect what they do not physically, viscerally know and love.

I want this for children worldwide.

Mary Silwance headshotAbout the author: After having taught English for 10 years, Mary Silwance became a stay-at-home mom in 2002 when her oldest child was born. She says, “at that time, my sweet sister-in-law gave me a subscription to Mothering magazine which focuses on natural family living. The well-researched, in-depth articles shaped my parenting and spurred my interest in environmental and social justice issues.” Now that all three of her children are in school, she works as an environmental educator with Green Works and serves as the farm-to-school coordinator for DeLaSalle High School. Mary started her blog, tonic wild,  to explore the intersection of spirituality and environmentalism. 

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