Faithful readers of this blog know that Virginia is a tree groupie, a waterfall groupie, and an avid groupie of mountains, beaches, forests, lakes, birds, oceans and flowers…

Majestic trees @ Banff National Park (Canada)

A tree AND an ocean (Pemba, Tanzania)

The grandeur of creation continually astounds my heart and spirit with awe.

Niagara Falls

As we continue to work to protect the environment and precious natural resources, here are a few suggestions for what we can do on Earth Day’s 50^th Anniversary.

Let’s give thanks for our truly amazing planet and consider all that needs doing to protect it from imploding.

Getting involved can be overwhelming…

Today our planet faces huge climate change challenges, environmental degradation of natural resources, pollution, lack of safe water access in many communities, deforestation …and the list is, sadly, way too long.

The challenges can be so overwhelming we end up stymied, maybe just mouthing off sentiments once a year when Earth Day comes around.

“It’s all the fault of big corporations and apathetic governments.”

Hey, you (and me) the point of Earth Day (and every day) is #1 – to be grateful for this amazing planet and appreciate the beauty of creation all around us. What a gift!

And, #2 – to do our part to take better care of what’s around us.

Blue heron (Chincoteague National Wildlife Reserve)

Getting involved in advocacy campaigns is admirable (check out the Earth Day website to take digital action.) We can also have a positive impact on the environment around us by our daily choices.

At a women’s conference a few years ago, my sister and I attended an environmental advocacy workshop. Taking furious notes on the stack of handouts of many things that needed changing, I felt a bit overwhelmed.

Our workshop leader challenged us: instead of trying to change everything (which most often leads to not changing anything), choose ONE THING to change.

And make that change.

I had already switched to natural bath soap, made by a local artisan, and we recycle our glass, tin and plastic items. So, I decided to switch to environmentally safe laundry detergent. Doesn’t seem like such a huge thing, but five years later I am still using ECOS detergent.

The next year I switched to environmentally safe dish detergent… and still going.

Small steps, small choices, but one by one can make a difference.

Maybe you can ride a bike a few days to work vs. always driving a car. Maybe that next car purchase can be a hybrid or an electric car. (They seem pretty amazing.) Or you can support locally grown initiatives, farm-to-table restaurants, and farmer’s markets. (Local produce always tastes so much fresher.) Or get involved in community gardens or plant your own. My brother has grown many different vegetables in pots on our deck, with herbs overflowing all around the backyard.

There’s so much to do, but we can pick ONE THING – and do it. Then, after that’s a habit, choose another, taking small steps on the path towards a greener, healthier planet.

“This me, like all of creation, lives in a glorious dance of communion with all the universe. In isolation we die; in interdependence we live.”  Madeleine L’Engle

grace, peace & interdependent earth groupies

Virginia : )