Earth Day is a day set aside to promote all-round protection of the planet, from conservation to sustainability to creating awareness. The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, in the United States and has since become a global movement, celebrated every April 22, to remind us of the need to protect the planet. The theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Restore Our Earth.” We’re two days away from Earth Day 2021, here are 9 things you can do for Earth Day 2021.

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1. Plant trees

The importance of trees cannot be stressed. We need to plant trees now more than ever because of climate change. Habitat destruction. Loss of biodiversity. Air pollution. Just in case you’re wondering why plant trees, you can find your answer here.

Thanks to Ecosia, Treedom, and so many tree-planting organizations, you don’t have to plant trees yourself. You can now plant trees without physically planting. Learn more about how you can plant trees without physically planting one here.

2. Go for clean-ups

A very common thing in our world today is littering. There are people out there who have made it their life’s mission to litter. There’s a lot of waste here and there, in beaches, parks, and other places which requires clean-up. For Earth Day, you could participate in a clean-up activity or even start one. This little act of just putting someone else’s trash in the bin would really go a long way in helping the planet.

3. Join, start or support an environmental organization

There are a lot of environmental organizations out there, all with the aim of environmental protection, be it conserving biodiversity, fighting climate change, conserving the ocean, and many more. You could join/support an environmental organization of your choice to help the fight and lend your voice, or you could even start one in your community.

4. Reduce, reuse, recycle

The 3Rs! There’s a reason why they always go together. Reduce? Reducing can be in the form of you reducing your waste by buying less, reducing your carbon footprint, and how you consume…to name a few. When it comes to reusing, you have to use, use, use whatever thing you have over and over again. You don’t just use and discard. No one-time thing here. Recycling is a bit similar. Here, you transform a thing into a new thing to fit another purpose, rather than throwing it away.

5. Plant-based diet

Do you know what won’t hurt? More plant-based diet. With the current climate crisis plus the links between fish farming/consumption and the planet, less consumption of animal products like meat and fish would help the environment. Have more plant-based meals. Eat more greens. If you’re in the UK, check out The Vegan Kind Supermarket.

6. Reusable/less plastic

Single-use plastics have wrecked a lot of havoc and reusables are the way out. What are these reusables?

For starters, you have your reusable bag which you could use for shopping to substitute for plastic ones. Reusable cutlery and straw made from bamboo and other eco-friendly materials. Even your toothbrush can be swapped out for the eco-friendly bamboo option.

7. Drop The Car

Transportation is also contributing to climate change because of fossil fuel combustion. If you own a car, reducing how often you drive or even dropping is a way you can help the environment. You could cycle short distances, carpool with a friend or friends, take public transport and even walk.

8. Educate

What better way to help than educating yourself? Nobody is the environmental “guru.” There’s a need to constantly learn more about the environment in order to understand it better and learn about more ways you can work to protect the planet. It could be through reading books, watching documentaries, taking a course, seminars, workshops, etc.

For Earth Day, Earth.org has a line of events you can partake in.

9. Spread Awareness

Ring the bells! Sound the environmental protection alarm everywhere you go! Preach to your friends, neighbors, schoolmates, and even random people you don’t know. Talk about the environment and tell people why they need to care and how to go about it. You could start a blog, or a YouTube channel, make posts on social media about the environment, volunteer to teach in your school, and many more.

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For Earth Day 2021, 4ocean has released its limited edition bracelet in partnership with SeaTrees by Sustainable Surf. For every purchase of the Earth Day bracelet, 4ocean pulls a pound of trash from the ocean and $1 is donated to SeaTrees.

As a 4ocean Brand Ambassador, I earn from qualifying purchases. Shop the Earth Day bracelet here. Use my code EDDY10 to get 10% off your entire purchase.

Here’s to Earth Day!