Helping Families Explore Outdoors
In honor of Earth day April 22, 2017, I thought I’d share 50 Ways to Go Green That I’ve Personally Tried. Over the last eighteen months I’ve been motivated to change my habits to be more environmentally friendly. Some of these habits became easy lifestyle changes, others…well…not so much.
Continue reading “50 Ways to Go Green That I’ve Personally Tried + GIVEAWAY”
Who’s ready to go green for Earth Day? The April Go Green Challenge will get you on your way!
I’ve had a great time getting outdoors with you readers for my monthly outdoor challenges. March’s challenge was a roaring good time (see below), but I think you’ll all like April’s challenge even more.
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| On our weekly Go Green litter pick up hike. |
I’ve been interested in Zero Waste living for a while. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, Zero Waste is a movement of drastically reducing the amount of trash you generate through composting, recycling, reusing as much as possible and making more package free purchasing choices. Basically it’s being aware and taking action to reduce the amount of garbage in your life.
After reading the book Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste
Think of your last camp out. Paper plates, propane containers, plastic water bottles – all that rubbish has to go somewhere. Yes single use items are super convenient, but once they’re used the remains are shipped away to rot in a landfill, and in the case of plastic items they’ll stay there long after we’re gone.
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| Mountain Dad and Baby L picking up garbage on our local trail. |
Think of how much trash you generated then multiply that by the 300 million – the number of visitors the National Park Service had last year. In Grand Teton National Park alone 1800 TONS of garbage is generated every season.
As a sponsor for the 100 anniversary of the National Park Service and an industry leader in Zero Waste practices, Subaru has partnered with Grand Teton, Denali and Yosemite National Parks to reduce their garbage footprint. These three parks are part of a pilot program aimed to curb the amount of trash visitors produce in the parks each year.
This video from the Subaru website was really interesting:
Grand Teton National Park is the first stop on our National Park to Park Highway Route. That means the pressure is on. Will we be able to live a Zero Landfill lifestyle for seven weeks while driving more than 5,000 miles?
Nope. But that doesn’t mean we won’t try.
What’ll make our Grand Teton visit easier is staying with our trip sponsor at Togwotee Mountain Lodge. Their cabins have mini kitchettes, meaning preparing food will be as easy as it would be at home. Plus access to laundry facilities and flush toilets will make cloth diapering so much easier. That may be more than you want to know, but we’re doing everything we can to reduce the amount of trash we use. What about you?
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This week is not only National Park Week, it’s also Earth Day today – Friday April 22nd. Earth Day started in 1970. This year the Tots and I are saying Happy Birthday Earth Day with a special project we’re doing with our local Hike It Baby branch.
Every week since St. Patrick’s Day the tots and I have biked, strolled and cleaned up along the Provo River Trail. This trail is my Go To Outdoor space, the place I escape to when I need a little outdoor time in the midst of daily life. Because I love this space, I want to see it taken care of. Thus began the Hike It Baby litter clean up series.
Every week the tots and I join other parents of young children to pick up litter on a different section of the trail. The Provo River Trail spans 30 miles from Utah Lake to South Fork Canyon and so far we’ve picked up litter along about seven of those miles. Our efforts combined have removed several gallons of trash from along the Provo River, improving the environment for the ducks, fish and people enjoying the trail.
It would be easier to ignore the beer cans, plastic wrappers and paper bits we pass. Stopping every few feet means slow going – nobody’s getting a cardio workout on these hikes. But I want to teach my kids to take care of their wild spaces, and what better way to do that than through example?
It’s interesting that for one hour a week my Tots and I are aware of the trash around us and we choose to do something about it. But for the rest of the week I find myself ignoring the litter around me, even the wrappers and discarded plant pots in my own yard. It’s like I have an edit in my eyesight that I disable on the assigned day and time.
It makes me wonder what it would take to make more lasting change. I feel good about the trash our Hike It Baby group has removed from the trail. I feel good about getting my kids outside. I feel good about helping my kids practice riding balance bikes. But I feel bad that I only care for that one hour each week. Green guilt isn’t useful unless it motivates change, but I’m not ready to adjust my life any more than I have already.
This weekly litter pickup adventure will continue until the entire trail is clean. Not only because its good for the environment, it’s also good exercise. And we’ve got to get ready for our daily hiking and biking on our National Park to Park Highway Adventure.
Whether you’ll be spending Earth Day at a National Park or cleaning up trash on a local trail, let me know about it. Tag @mountainmomtots on instagram, twitter or facebook and tell me how you’ll spend Earth Day today. You’ll have a chance to be featured in the Mountain Mom and Tots Newsletter.
It’s a day to be grateful for the beauty around us and do something nice for the environment. Now’s your chance to do that something nice. What’s it going to be?