bEARTHday; 3 Ways to Celebrate the Earth

You may find several articles that say Earth's birthday is October 23rd, however the adopted date has been April 22nd. Widely know as Earth Day, we celebrate by raising awareness about the health of our planet. First initiated in Spring 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth day and millions of Americans nationally participated which lead to the legacy of it today. Did you know that Earth Day has themes? This year's theme is "Invest in Our Planet" and encourages businesses, governments and citizens to work together to preserve our planet.

• Switch and invest to reusable bags. Common places we go like the grocery store, retail stores and anywhere we go to collect; try using a reusable bag. We waste single use plastic bags by throwing them away and tossing them. Often times they end up polluting the planet. You can find reusable bags at grocery Stores and retail stores, my favorite is Ikea they have nice patterns and are very affordable.

• Compost. Compost is the reuse of ingredients to fertilize and improve soil life around you. We all live near some grass or own plants these days and some items in your pantry and refrigerator can be reused for them! For example, coffee! Old coffee grounds can harden and become inedible, but plants can benefit from them! Instead of throwing them away, sprinkle them in planet soil to promote fertilization. Plants aside, fungi and worms benefit from this too if you choose the outdoor option.

• Use environmentally friendly cleaning products. Qualities of an Eco-friendly cleaning product includes non-toxic and biodegradable ingredients. The benefits of it result in cleaner air, cleaner water and essentially helps fight climate change and ozone depletion. There are so many natural, organic brands that are Eco-friendly and safe for your home. Instead of buying your popular household products, try these brands; PUR home, TRUE products and Dinobi Detergent. Did I mention all of these brands are black owned?

I know we're excited, but before we go save our planet, here are some bonus tips of things you can do to celebrate and preserve our planet:

• Stop buying plastic buy glass or paper instead.

• Turn off lights when not in use why do you need all those lights on anyway?

• Use a reusable water bottle or recycle your plastics if you must

• Buy local food support your community and your local farmers

• Pick up trash clean up when you can, the least you can do

• Use the internet, not trees go paperless with billing and any documents you can

• Voice and vote your opinions pay attention to elections and laws happening around you, communicate and advocate for things like banning plastic and deforestation.

There's so many ways to preserve the planet! The more you incorporate these habits into your daily routine, the easier they will become to do. Going green is a lifestyle and a constant work in progress, but it is well worth it. Make preserving the planet cool and participate in saving the earth. Happy bEARTHday!