We’re getting excited for the change in seasons here at Random Acts — which makes this month’s official #GetKind theme, “conservation”, especially fitting. After all, everyone enjoys admiring what the earth has to offer. Why not keep it beautiful for future generations?
Of course, the earth is a very big place. So where do you even start looking for solutions to the rising global temperatures, deforestation, and the mountains of trash currently inhabiting the world’s oceans? Some say it’s our responsibility to teach the next wave of teens and grown-ups how to properly care for the planet, if we’re going to make any difference. “Education is the cure for the twin diseases of indifference and wickedness,” Andrew Fiala, professor of philosophy and director of The Ethics Center at Fresno State wrote of conservation efforts, in a recent column for The Fresno Bee. “Indeed, education is an act of preservation and conservation. . . . We need to criticize greed, hatred and indifference. And we need to understand the fragility of civilization.”
Of course, as important as it is to teach children the importance of saving the earth, there are still ways that the rest of us can #GetKind for our home planet in the meantime.
How To #GetKind For The Earth
From setting up a recycling program in your neighborhood to simply making the choice to bike to work, getting-kind for the earth isn’t quite as difficult as you might think:
- Organize a beach or forest cleanup and remove litter and debris left by others. Rather than simply spending the weekend with the ones you love, make it a group effort and beautify your campsite or hiking trail the next time you’re out.
Car-pool to work, school… anywhere you can, whenever you can. It’s an easy way to split the cost of fuel while simultaneously going easy on the environment — and you’ll learn things about your fellow travelers that you might not have otherwise in today’s digitally isolating world. We love new tech, but we love making new friends even more. Don’t like driving? Take your bikes or slip on some comfy shoes, and enjoy the fresh air.
- Diaper with a conscience. “By the time a child is toilet trained, a parent will change between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers, adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in U.S. landfills each year,” suggests one report. Whether you’re a cloth-diaper expert or a new parent/aunt or uncle/nanny or caregiver looking to go green with eco-friendly diapers, remember to encourage others to follow your lead. Extra bonus: If you have the ability, go even greener and sign up a new parent for a cloth diaper program or purchase a bulk of cloth nappies! They’ll have one less thing to worry about when it comes to doing household chores or straining their budget, and the earth will have hundreds of fewer diapers buried in landfills to worry about as well.
- Use reusable drinking containers rather than buying bottled water. As Random Acts PR Officer Diana suggested last summer, “Plastic bottles take hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill – perhaps up to 1,000 years. 90% of bottles aren’t even recycled. Bottles made with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET or
PETE) will never biodegrade.” Ease some of the burden on the natural world and find a greener way to hydrate (the earth will thank you for it later).
- Plan an outing to donate gardening supplies to a local community garden, or start one yourself. There’s nothing more therapeutic than spending a day in the sunshine with neighbors and friends, making the earth just a little more colorful and fruitful. (The bees and butterflies will all appreciate it too.) Even U.S. first lady Michelle Obama makes planting the White House Kitchen Garden an annual tradition, opening up the doors to students from across the country and NASA representatives so that they, too, can get down in the dirt and start planting a little change. Want an easy start? Check out our partner Plantables and find out how you can beautify your community in a few simple steps!
- Cut down on paper waste and save a few trees! Switch to online bill-pay and bank statements if possible and re-use bags whenever possible — the next time you’re at the grocery store, don’t forget to grab those reusable bags sitting in your trunk! Forget them (again)? It’s okay: plastic bags and cartons can easily be recycled, as many places offer convenient drop-off areas or bins.
Educate the public. While teaching kids is one thing, it’s just as important to make other adults realize the impact that their actions have on the earth. You don’t have to be a professor or school-teacher to do it right either — organizations like Conservation.org and the World Wildlife Fund provide plenty of stirring insight, photos, and videos to get even the most cynical of critics motivated to do something. Share on your social media pages the things that matter to you the most and help inspire others to take their own small steps toward a greener planet.
Whatever you do to celebrate this month’s #GetKind theme, remember to share your photos and videos with Random Acts on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram! Not only will your efforts show others that you care, they might just inspire someone, somewhere to join in on the campaign to make the world a better, more beautiful place.
Image: Kevin Gill/Flickr