Earth Day Challenge

We’re celebrating Earth Day all month long with a raffle contest highlighting “green” habits in Easton and beyond. Whether you’re biking to work, eating local, or cutting down on waste, snap a picture of yourself completing a sustainable habit this month and email it to gardens@eastonpartnership.org for a chance to win a gift basket chock full of sustainability-themed goodies from Downtown Easton shops.

Below, you’ll find a loooong list of ideas for “green” habits. Pick one, or get creative and share your own ideas for cutting your carbon footprint.

 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

  • Reuse yogurt cups or egg cartons for seed starting indoors.
  • Shop your local thrift, antique, and consignment stores like Salvage Goods, Easton Antique Emporium, 2nd Base Vintage, Twice Chic Boutique, Easton Exchange, and more.
  • Check in with City of Easton requirements and recycle items properly (don’t forget to wash them out first!)
  • Switch to low-waste toiletries (like shampoo bars and plastic free lip balms at Learke) and low-waste and reusable home goods (like reusable coffee cuffs and napkins at Mercantile Home, or Swedish dishcloths and reusable wrap at the Highmark Farmstand).
  • Create some upcycled crafts for something to do at home with the kids, or make a natural DIY cleaner from vinegar, lemon juice, salt, etc. 
  • Pick up a book or movie from the Easton Public Library rather than buy new, or use and return a book to one of many Little Free Libraries in town. 
  • Bring your own coffee cup to Nature’s Way “Special Tea” cafe and others coffee shops to reduce disposable waste (and even get a discount in some for doing so!).
  • Buy minimally packaged items, use a reusable bag when shopping, switch to paperless billing, and make other small conscious decisions to limit waste when you can. 

What’s On Your Plate?

  • Eat locally and seasonally! Visit the Easton Farmers’ Market and support your local farmers.
  • Plan a Meatless Monday and grab takeout or dine in at an Easton restaurant for a vegetarian or vegan meal. Check out restaurants HERE, and upload your receipt to Feastin’ In Easton for a chance to win a $50 gift card!
  • Stop by Highmark Farmstand and Nature’s Way for organic and sustainably-produced foods.

Divert Your Waste

  • Tip your Easton Compost Program bucket at the Easton Public Market and reduce your food waste. Or add your name to the waiting list to join soon here. 
  • Toss cigarette butts in Easton Ambassador’s TerraCycle cigarette butt recycling program.
  • Make soup stock with leftover veggie scraps.  

Plant A Garden

  • Get a houseplant to filter your indoor air from Bloomie’s, Learke, and other local shops.
  • Start a garden in your yard and limit your lawn space, or even a container garden on your porch. Or tend to your Easton Garden Works community garden plot.
  • Plant milkweed seeds for monarch butterflies, or any native wildflower seeds to help pollinators. You can also set up bird feeders, bird baths, and salt licks for bees/butterflies/pollinators. 
  • Pick up seeds for your garden from Learke, Highmark Farmstand, and more downtown.

Get Involved!

  • Join the Citywide Earth Day cleanups (April 24th, 2021) and/or pick up litter around town.
  • You can’t do it alone. Encourage a friend to start practicing sustainable habits with you, or get them a gift (like a reusable water bottle or one of the many local business listings above) that make it easier to reach this goal! 
  • Attend a city council meeting, get involved with the City’s Pocket Parks plan, and join into community sustainability discussions
  • Donate your gently used clothes instead of tossing them, donate non-perishable foods to local shelters or Little Free Pantry at the Neighborhood Center, and donate books to Little Free Libraries around Easton. Check out the Buy Nothing Easton fb page for swapping items. 

Cut Down on Driving

  • Bike or walk to your next destination instead of taking the car. Bonus points if you use the D&L, KSAT or a local trail! And park your bike at many of the bike racks around town.
  • If you have an electric car, plug in to one of the charging stations in Easton’s parking garages.
  • Use public transit and carpool. Or, in today’s world, Zoom into your meeting instead of driving!

Limit your Water Waste

Be Energy Efficient

  • Turn off lights and electronics when not in use. Switch out inefficient incandescent bulbs with LEDs.
  • Turn down your heat, keep your refrigerator full, seal up cracks around windows and doors, and more.

 

Think of any others to add to our list? Email us at gardens@eastonpartnership.org, or message us on Instagram and Facebook @eastongardenworks.