Last Thursday was Earth Day, where new light was shone on taking care of our beloved planet. This year’s theme centred on “Restore Our Planet,” which forty world leaders commemorated through an online climate summit. They made broad commitments to slashing greenhouse emissions, with the UK targeting 78% reductions by 2035. Ambitious though these targets may seem, they are critically necessary to avert a climate disaster. Leaders have warned that a climate catastrophe will lead to food shortage, inhospitable weather events and ultimately, the extinction of the human race. As climate activist Greta Thunberg has warned, this crisis must be treated as a crisis, happening in our present and can only be fated to shock our future if drastic changes are not taken towards greener and cleaner policies and behaviour.
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Following the theme of restoration and earth-healing, here are a few tips you can implement to help care for our planet. Growing your own food in your garden, balcony or terrace is a great way to ensure your food is sustainably produced. To replenish your garden, use the peelings of food as compost, thereby keeping your kitchen zero-waste. Moreover, bring back colour to your garden and help out our pollinators this spring, without whom the world would be very dull, a sobering prospect not lost on any fan of the Bee Movie. Finally, planting trees can capture carbon dioxide, reducing air pollution. If you prefer to not get your hands dirty, Treedom (https://www.treedom.net/en/) aims to make the world greener by enabling you to plant trees, even a forest, in countries around the world. With a small initial cost, a farmer will plant your tree and look after it. The fruits of the tree will help to feed the local population. Repopulating our planet with trees and home-grown food are thus dual methods that can restore our planet.