April 22nd is Earth Day – What can we do to make a difference?

Earth Day shines a light on our ‘Pale Blue Dot’ and focuses attention on what can be done – regardless of how small a gesture it may seem. Many important environmental events have happened on Earth Day since 1970, including the recent signing of the Paris Agreement, as Earth Day continues to be a momentous and unifying day each year. The media spotlight continues to pick out big characters making bold statements about what can and should be done, and there’s no doubt that Earth Day has been used to highlight some impressive progress in recent years.

Some of Earth Days’ achievements so far include:

100s of Millions of Trees Planted
$7 Billion Green School Grants
36 Million Cleanup Volunteers
Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act
Countless Billions of Earth Day Participants Everywhere

More than one billion people in 192 countries now participate in Earth Day each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world. It continues to be a momentous and unifying day with a myriad of ways to participate, whether it be contributing to large-scale global initiatives, or taking smaller everyday steps toward a more environmentally conscious life.

“That’s all very well”, we hear you say “but what’s it got to do with my lawn?” Last month we published a blog post about Organic Lawn Care, which is a great way to do your bit when it comes to using only natural treatments on your lawn. It’s a very good start. But how about increasing the amount of lawn in your garden? This is a whole subject on its own, and one to which we’ll return in depth very soon. There is a debate going on in the press with some well-known gardening figures suggesting we should abandon our lawns to grow feral, with the intention of providing more habitat for wildlife. Our view is that if you have enough space, do both. Leave some grass area as a wildflower meadow, and some that you can enjoy as neatly mown and tended by experts like Lawntech. One thing we know for certain is that plants, including all the grasses, are the lungs of the planet. They absorb Carbon Dioxide and emit Oxygen, which is of course crucial to humans and other animal species.

We will return to this debate in depth on another day, but for now it is important to consider how the recent trends for removing natural lawns and replacing them with concrete, gravel or artificial turf are affecting the circle of life. Wildlife is being deprived of its habitat, and many native species are rapidly declining in numbers. Wildlife Corridors are a great way to redress the balance, and we shall return to this topic too. For now, we see Earth Day as an event to make us all stop and think about what we can do with our spaces to make a difference to the bigger picture.

Here’s a link to our Organic Lawn Care Programme page, for more details:

https://www.lawn-tech.co.uk/lawn-care-services/organic-lawn-care-programme/

Here are some associated events to get involved in…

Great Global Cleanup

www.cleanup.earthday.org

The Great Global Cleanup is exactly what it sounds like and there’s many ways you can participate. The site has tons of information on doing it on your own, organising groups when possible, and even a section on plogging (we’ll leave you to discover what this is…)

COVID has forced the organisers to be creative with their events structure, finding ways to provide and promote cleanup events, while maintaining the safety of those involved. Small group and individual cleanups are perfect alternatives to large group activities, and allow for safe and effective cleanups no matter where you are. They’re also easier to organize, plus multiple small actions can build to create larger change that can span across towns, cities, and counties.

Imagine if everyone went outside and picked up all the rubbish that they found on a short walk. How much litter do you think would be collected? Lasting impacts are built upon small daily actions that add up over time – just like taking a rubbish bag with you and picking up litter on your next outdoor excursion. You can spotlight your cleanup’s by tagging @EarthDayNetwork and using #GreatGlobalCleanup

Global Earth Challenge

www.earthday.org/campaign/global-earth-challenge

Global Earth Challenge™ is the world’s largest ever coordinated citizen science campaign. Using mobile technology and open citizen science data, Global Earth Challenge™ empowers people around the world to help monitor and mitigate local environmental threats.

The campaign uses a mobile app to collect billions of observations in air quality, water quality, insect populations, climate change, plastic pollution and food sustainability, providing valuable environmental insight and a platform for policy change in these areas. The app also allows you to take photos of the horizon to help scientists estimate air quality through light waves in your photo. It’s as easy as snapping a picture!

Live Planetarium shows from Bournemouth to celebrate Earth Day

The Bournemouth planetarium is holding Facebook Live sessions to celebrate Earth Day. You won’t have to watch the full 10 hours (unless you really want to) as the day will consist of rolling content and in the evening a live Sky watching using telescopes if the weather behaves…