Last spring, we provided some eco-friendly activities to help your teens get out, get active, and get green. Now with spring almost here again, we want to help provide a few more simply, environmentally-friendly activities you can share with your kids once the warm weather arrives.
With today’s technology, kids and teens don’t get outside as much as they should. In fact, researchers have found that today’s kids play for about four hours a week. This is much less compared to the 8.2 hours their parents played outside when there were kids. And after being cooped up all winter long, it’s time to get outside and get active!
One of the best places to get active is at your local park or nature trails. Whether you have little ones or teenagers, there’s plenty you can do at a nearby park. Whether it’s playing on the playground, having a scavenger hunt throughout the nature trails, or even picking up trash along the way, there’s no excuse to not get outside. And if you’re one of the owners of the 770,000 drones that have currently been registered with the FAA, spring is a great time to put it to use. Flying it around the park can be a great way to get some fresh air and cool pictures or videos.
Another great activity to do with your family is visit your local farmer’s market. This will not only allow you to purchase some fresh fruits and veggies for home but will help you teach your family about healthy, locally-grown food. Knowing where food comes from, and the benefit of eating fresh foods, can start your child off on an eco-friendly path early on.
Or instead of visiting a farmer’s market, why not try growing your own goodies at home? Having a garden at home can be an ongoing project and can teach your family about responsibility. Whether you’re planting fruits and vegetables, flowers, or some small herbs, the entire family can get involved in learning how to plant, care for, and harvest your new crops and plants. With some supervision, your kids can learn the responsibility of taking care of their very own garden.
Along with gardening, you and your family can get started on some sustainable gardening practices. Setting up something like a rainwater harvesting system can teach the whole family more about sustainable practices. Furthermore, your kids can see the direct impact when they get to use the rainwater to help their garden grow.
Whether you’re getting your hands dirty with some dirt, picking up trash at your local park, or simply getting out and enjoying nature, there are plenty of ways to get your family outside and doing eco-friendly activities everyone can enjoy.
As the spring season approaches, it’s easy to start thinking about the warm weather and longer daylight hours, but it’s important to also think about the earth. Earth day falls on April 22nd each year, but it’s important to think about how to be eco-friendly year-round. Below are a few ideas of how to keep your family entertained and environmentally conscious this spring.
Make Recycled Crafts
Making fun crafts can be a great way to spend time together and make something fun. To add an eco-friendly spin to crafting, challenge your kids to create something that is entirely made up of recycled or reused materials. Depending on their age, you can give them a handful of materials to choose from, or you can let them loose to find things in your home and yard that are going to be discarded that they can use to make something new. This can help them develop their creativity as well as see that new things don’t have to be made up entirely of new materials.
Garden Together
Gardening is a great family activity that is also very eco-friendly. As the ground thaws in the spring, it’s a great time to get outside and get started on your gardening for the year. Your kids can help you with many gardening tasks, just make sure to take into account their age and ability levels when you’re asking them for help with different tasks. Plant some fruits and vegetables to be a little extra eco-friendly!
Find Ways to Save Electricity
There are many ways to use less electricity in your daily life, but if you work as a family to brainstorm ways to use less electricity, it can stick better in your kids’ minds. There are 5.5 million miles of local distribution lines for electricity in the United State’s electrical grid, and taking some of the stress off of that system can help it work more effectively and save energy. Something as simple as unplugging a device once you’re done using it or making sure that you turn the lights off when you’re the last one to leave the room can help save a lot of electricity over time. Figure out some specific ways that your family can decrease your electricity usage to make sure that you can actually cut back in your daily lives.
Bike Around Your Town
Once the weather is warm enough, start taking weekly bike rides to explore your town and the surrounding areas. It’s a great way to have fun family bonding time without worrying about polluting the environment. You can find new places that you might not have noticed if you were driving around your town, get some good exercise, and bond as a family. That makes bike riding one of the best eco-friendly spring activities for your family.
Cut Back on Your Water Usage
Similarly to saving electricity, talk as a family about ways that you can use less water. Only 1% of the water on earth is suitable for drinking, and while we can take that for granted in developed countries, it’s important to think about conservation. Some easy ways to cut back on your water usage include taking shorter showers, turning off the water while brushing your teeth or washing your face, and using a dishwasher instead of washing your dishes by hand. Ask your kids what they think they can do and try to achieve those water-saving efforts together.
Do a Park Clean-Up
Litter is a big problem everywhere, but especially in the places that see a lot of foot traffic, like popular parks or walking paths. Every time that you go to a place like that, challenge everyone in your family to pick up a certain number of pieces of litter. If you’re worried about what’s on the litter, you can pack gloves to use to pick up the litter as well as hand sanitizer. Over time, your family will be responsible for picking up a lot of litter and making the earth a little bit cleaner of a place.
Exercise Outside
When the weather starts getting nicer, it can be easy to want to spend every moment possible soaking in the outdoors. It’s a great opportunity to encourage some healthy habits with your kids by finding new ways to get moving outdoors. Depending on the size of your family, you can arrange games like soccer or basketball, or you can try for more solitary forms of exercise, like yoga. 28% of Americans have tried yoga at some point, and doing yoga outside is a great way to soak in the good weather and take care of your body at the same time. Getting outside to enjoy the weather while also getting out some energy and helping your body is a great way to spend the spring.
Go on a Flower Hunt
A flower hunt is a great way to spend time outdoors and keep your family entertained. Next time you’re at a park, challenge everyone to find as many different types of flowers as they can. If you can, have everyone take pictures of their flowers instead of picking them so that you aren’t disrupting nature too much. After you’ve found as many flowers as you can, go home and do some research to find out what kind of flowers they are.
Play in the Rain
Spring means a lot of rain in many climates, and playing in the rain can be a very fun activity. You don’t want to get sick from spending time out in the rain, so make sure that you’re being smart about it and properly layering up in raincoats and boots, and not spending too long outside. Once you’re done, dry off and warm up with a nice cup of hot chocolate or tea and watch a movie to get the full rainy day experience.
Being eco-friendly and bonding with your family can go hand in hand with these springtime activities. Teaching your kids about the importance of being eco-friendly is a great way to help prepare them to have eco-friendly habits as they grow up.
It’s no secret that our choices can greatly impact the environment. However, while recycling can definitely reduce your carbon footprint, there are other methods you can use to help the environment and combat climate change. That said, here are a few unexpected ways you can help the environment.
1. Use Eco-Friendly Servers for Your Internet
You may not give much thought to your internet needs. After all, we’ve all heard that a digital lifestyle is a lot better for the environment than one based on manual operations such as printing out materials. If you’re already cutting back on the waste you produce by making printouts of things and opting to send them online; you can take things a step further. This is by making sure that the servers you use for your internet needs are eco-friendly.
A simple search online should point you toward some eco-friendly servers that have based their operations on sustainability. Keep in mind that the global web hosting services market is forecasted to grow from $102 billion to $321.5 billion by 2025. You should use a server with 480Gbps and advanced DDoS protection for the best experience. You can search for these qualities in the server that promotes green living in order to enjoy good internet without leaving a large carbon footprint.
2. Reduce Pollution by Fixing Your Car
Another way to reduce the carbon footprint you’re leaving on the environment is to fix your car. When your car is running in good condition, it will not only be a lot more efficient, but it will also produce fewer emissions. This is why making sure that your car is in good shape is important for the environment. It’s a good way to hit a number of goals all at once, as you can be sure that you’ll enjoy having a car in great running condition, and so will the environment.
To this end, keep in mind basic car maintenance steps, such as changing your oil every 3,000 miles or as per the manufacturer’s recommendations. You should also have your car serviced at regular intervals so that it’s easy for you to spot any potential issues long before they get out of hand.
3. Shop for Local Produce
Last but not least, you should consider shopping for local produce. Doing this will make you travel a shorter distance to get the produce you need. In this way, you can help ease the demand for produce that needs to get shipped from a long distance away. You’ll increase the demand for local produce and support local producers while enjoying a shorter commute to get your produce.
This will see you use your car less often or on shorter trips, which you can even get done by walking or using a bicycle, both great alternatives for green living. When doing this, you’ll inadvertently lower your carbon emissions and support local farmers who will be motivated to keep producing healthy produce for you and like-minded individuals. Local produce leaves a smaller carbon footprint in its production, so this is going to be an additional benefit for the environment. You’ll eat fresh and healthy produce that will keep you healthy and decrease your dependence on commercially-produced greens that may not be as healthy for you.
In these three unexpected ways, you can reduce your carbon footprint. You’ll make a welcome difference to the environment as well as to your life. You’ll also set a great example to the people around you. With such habits of green living, it may be possible to improve the state of the environment.
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Public transportation plays a significant role in our society today. People in large cities around the world rely on buses and trains for convenient and affordable travel. Additionally, many methods of public transportation have embraced new technological advancements in order to attract more people. If you’re still unsure about moving away from private travel, here’s a look at some important benefits of public transportation.
Community Asset
Many state government leaders believe that public transportation improves community relations. Public transportation also helps promote an active lifestyle. Riding public transportation likely means that you have to walk to your nearby stop, which is a form of exercise to help you stay in shape. Health experts recommend that people perform at least 15-20 minutes of physical activity every day. You could fulfill that requirement simply by riding public transportation on a regular basis.
Higher Fuel Quality
Using public transportation reduces your carbon footprint for several reasons. These types of vehicles use more eco-friendly fuel sources, for one. Public transportation vehicles receive high marks for utilizing electric resources as fuel. The vehicles are also more fuel efficient than other vehicles that also rely on gas. Less fuel is consumed utilizing public transportation compared to driving a public car on the road.
Mass Appeal
Public transportation is a major asset to people who live in urban and rural areas who don’t have the ability to drive on a regular basis. Public transportation helps people reach their intended destinations to complete tasks when they would be immobile otherwise. To that end, research shows that over 95% of public transportation buses are equipped to accommodate people in wheelchairs. In that sense, public transportation helps ensure that no one is left behind.
Stimulates the Economy
Supporting public transportation helps improve the local economy. When you use public transportation, you’re supporting the workforce and small businesses in the area. Perhaps you decide to shop at a local store near your bus or train stop. Popular transportation systems also stimulate the local community’s workforce. This helps create more jobs and also makes it easier for people who don’t own a vehicle to make a living.
Public Transportation Is Eco-Friendly
Recent data shows that traveling using the most common methods of public transportation (bus or train) is more environmentally friendly than driving your own car or flying. For reference, with a full tank, helicopters can usually fly around two and a half to five hours before running out of fuel. Public transportation can help you reach your destination way more efficiently. It really can’t be said enough; utilizing public transportation is a great example of green living practices.
Minimizes Traffic
Getting stuck in traffic is every person’s worst nightmare. Traffic jams also have a negative impact on local infrastructure. However, turning to public transportation is a potential solution. Public transportation can help reduce wear and tear on highways and other roads because there are fewer vehicles on the road at once. Utilizing public transportation also reduces the likelihood of potential traffic jams.
Reduces The Risk Of Serious Accidents
Driving requires all of your attention. However, many drivers have caused accidents because they were talking or texting while driving. Driving under the influence is also a major issue. Even for a first DUI offense, penalties can include license suspension, fines, community service, mandatory attendance at an alcohol program, mandatory overnight incarceration, and the required installation of a car ignition locking device. Relying on public transportation allows you to relax and avoid being overwhelmed by the pressures of driving. You won’t have to worry as much about evolving road conditions or the behavior of other drivers on the road.
Helps You Save Money
Public transportation also helps you save money in the long term because you aren’t spending as much money on fuel every month. Driving less frequently can also lower your car insurance premiums. Plus, many public transportation programs offer loyalty rewards programs to help you qualify for future discounts.
There are many advantages to using public transportation. Consider switching over to help support your community and the environment.
Many families struggle with common health conditions they can handle without going to the hospital. While prescription medications are important, their costs can increase in the long run. It’s important to consider the alternative in this case: embracing “green” treatments. Understand that these treatments use natural approaches to address common health conditions you may have. This guide explains which natural treatments and ingredients could help set you up for a healthy life.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is among the plants with effective medicinal properties you can use to treat common health conditions. In alternative medicine, aloe vera can treat skin abrasion and alleviate joint pain. The anti-inflammatory properties in the plant are also vital in treating arthritis pain. Aloe vera is also important to people struggling with osteoporosis and low bone density. More than 52 million people are struggling with osteoporosis and low bone density in the United States alone. With aloe vera as an alternative treatment, addressing health conditions and enabling healing can be easy.
Chamomile
Addressing common health conditions naturally goes beyond the physical symptoms you see. It is possible to address your mental health issues in this way as well. Chamomile is a common medicinal plant used to treat anxiety and enable relaxation. The plant is also effective in reducing inflammation and swelling and treating wounds. When added to tea, it helps soothe the mind, making it possible for you to relax and concentrate more. Chamomile is a plant you can grow in your home and enjoy the related benefits. Use the flowers to get the expected medicinal results faster.
Traditional Diet
Besides breastfeeding, you effectively address dental health issues in your child by embracing and encouraging a traditional diet. A meal with plenty of fat-soluble vitamins and healthy fats is crucial to dental health. Did you know that one out of every three orthodontic patients in a dental care clinic is an adult? It is important to consider traditional diets as they help address dental health issues in adults and children. As a parent and homeowner, encouraging your family to eat avocados, pasture butter, fermented foods, and fish is important for their dental health. Reach out to nutritionists and dieticians to know more about vegetables such as broccoli, kale, and collard greens that contain high calcium content to add to your traditional diet and address your dental health issues.
Garlic and Ginger
As you look for ways to get the best natural treatment, know that adding garlic and ginger to your diet is beneficial. While garlic is widely used for cooking, the medicinal benefits are great. You can use the compounds found in garlic for antimicrobial, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory needs. Know that garlic is effective in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. Ginger is effective in easing motion sickness and nausea. Like garlic, you can effectively use ginger as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. Understand that you reduce medical needs and costs by embracing and encouraging natural health in your family.
Perilla or Stinging Nettle
The little-known perilla plant is effective in the treatment of people struggling with allergies. Note that this plant has antidepressant properties you can effectively use to alleviate asthma or allergic rhinitis symptoms. You can also use the plant to treat different skin conditions, helping you avoid costly prescription medications. While it is the belief that allergic rhinitis or asthma can spontaneously go away, medical reports and statistics show that the likelihood of positive results is only 1% per year. For this reason, embracing alternative medicine remains beneficial. You can conveniently use stinging nettle leaves as an alternative treatment to alleviate allergies or asthma. Studies show that you can benefit from stinging nettle’s antioxidant, astringent, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Embracing “green” treatment is an effective way to achieve your health objectives without spending much. You can grow most of the plants, vegetables, and herbs in the garden in your home and enjoy the benefits. By learning more about natural treatments, you easily address common health conditions and care for your family.
