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Happy Earth Day! 2024 marks the 54th anniversary of celebrating Earth Day.
While this year has been different from most, some things stay the same, including the ongoing effort to foster environmental stewardship and mitigate environmental damage. Every action counts–take a look at what you can do to make your own life greener!
Human activities are releasing an excess of carbon into the atmosphere, causing climate change. We each can play a role on a personal, family, community, and national level to reduce these emissions. Some sources of carbon are more obvious, for example, the emissions from our vehicles, while others are more difficult to trace, such as food waste.
As an individual or a family, you can use public transport; ride a bicycle, scooter or skateboard; turn off unnecessary lights and “vampire electronics”; reduce the amount of food waste; don’t idle your vehicle.
As a community you can plant trees; support locally produced goods including food, create ride shares, educate others on climate change.
At a national level, support raising car and truck fuel efficiency standards and supporting community-wide legislation for energy efficiency will all help to slow the rate of climate change. There is much that we can do to minimize our “carbon contribution”. In addition, our actions can inspire others to make the same changes in their own lifestyles!
Challenge yourself to set a goal and take action; whether at the individual, family, or community level – what are feasible solutions you can participate in?
Want to take it a step further? Talk with your friends and family and encourage them to set their own goal.
Check out The Oregon Bee Project for a full list of great resources; from gardening with native plants west of the Cascades, to plants for pollinators in Oregon, to attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden!
Head over to Oregon State University’s Extension Services Bees & Pollinators resources, which include beekeeping information, how to build pollinator habitats, and the latest news and webinars on pollinators of Oregon.
View this quick video from the OSU Master Gardeners to learn more about flowers to plant!
Native flora and fauna are incredibly important for a thriving ecosystem and healthy habitat for our native wildlife. One great way to understand the role of biodiversity in your area is to observe what you see right in your backyard or local wild places. You can add your observations to a collective data base called iNaturalist.
Just download the app on your smartphone and you’re halfway to becoming a citizen scientist! Learn how to use the program, find a project you’d like to join, or a species you’d like to learn more about at iNaturalist.
