Earth Day is coming up on April. 22—a day of stewardship, empowerment, and conservation. Communities around the world take part in sustainability initiatives such as tree planting, yard clean-ups, or rallies, and many extend these activities for the entire month of April, globally known as Earth Month.
To commemorate the annual occasion, the University of Waterloo’s Sustainability Office is holding an Earth Month 2021 challenge, happening from Monday, March 29 to Friday, April 23.
This four-week challenge aims to encourage participants to take action on four different weekly themes: sustainable food, waste reduction, connecting with nature and promoting wellness. Here’s how community members can participate:
- Register for the challenge to stay in the loop.
- Take action each week from a list of five themed actions. The list will be shared via email and social media.
- Track your impact through the weekly reporting form to enter into a draw.
- Get rewarded by contributing to collective impact and being entered into the grand prize draw.
Participants will be entered to win one of 15 $50 gift cards that support local businesses including: Four All Ice Cream, Gifted and Zero Waste Bulk. You can watch for the #EarthMonthUW on popular social media.
Earth Day isn’t about protecting the planet for one day, week, or month—it’s about sustaining these actions and creating a lifestyle that supports and protects the environment for the long-term.
Students can also join a club on campus that promotes sustainability within the university, such as Sustainable Campus Initiative, Campus Compost or the ESS Coffee Shop and take part in their events.
Here are just a few simple ideas for anyone to get started:
- Shop at your local farmer’s market for produce, meat, and bread, and look for less-packaged alternatives when shopping
- Use less electricity by turning lights off in vacant rooms and unplugging unused chargers
- Make a donation or volunteer your time with a local environmental organization, like Sustainable Waterloo Region or Reep Green Solutions
- Go outside and reconnect with nature
There are so many ways for community members to promote sustainability in everyday life and Earth Day is a great way to start living a more sustainable lifestyle. You can watch for the #EarthMonthUW on popular social media.
