Blog - Celebrate Earth Day!

You can play a part in protecting our planet – everyday, not just on Earth Day! We celebrate Earth Day on April 22, but what happens on the other 364 days? Do we hop off this rock and hang out on Jupiter? Can we cool our heels in the Kuiper Belt?

No, Planet Earth is our home and we have to take care of it. Here are some ways you can pitch in:

Participate in Toronto's annual spring cleanup. People across the city are helping to pick up litter in parks, beaches and other public spaces. Is your school or a local community group organizing a neighbourhood cleanup? Can it happen more than once a year?

Walk or bike to school and the library. You're exercising and reducing greenhouse gas emissions!

Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle! Did you know that all the stuff we buy, from clothes to electronics, causes carbon emissions? For example, for every kilogram of clothing produced, so are 17 kilograms of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents). Recycling, while good, should be the last option. Do you think you and your family can buy fewer things, shop secondhand, and repair what you can?

Stop wasting food! When you throw food away, you're also wasting the energy that was used to grow, package and transport it. And rotting food produces a greenhouse gas called methane. So help your family plan meals, make grocery lists and compost leftovers. Cutting your food waste can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 300 kilograms of CO2e every year!

Eat more fruits and vegetables. They are tasty and can lower our environmental impact. That's because producing plant-based foods generally requires less energy, land and water. And when food is grown in far away places, it takes tons of carbon emissions to get transported to our local stores. So if we shop local and eat what's in season, we can also help reduce food miles.

Save energy at home! Talk to your family about what you can do. Can you use LED light bulbs and energy-efficient electric appliances? How about doing laundry with cold water and hanging clothes to dry?

Looking for more green ideas? Check out some of these books and get inspired. Climate change affects us all, and climate action is everyone's mission and responsibility. We can't save the world by ourselves – but we can do it together!

Be the Change by Rob Greenfield and Antonia Banyard

Beetles for Breakfast by Madeleine Finlay and Jisu Choi

Breaking the Mold by Dana Alison Levy

Fashion Forward: Striving for Sustainable Style by Raina Delisle

Get Involved in an Environmental Club! by Lisa Amstutz

Maker Comics: Live Sustainably! by Angela Boyle and Les McClaine

Old Enough to Save the Planet by Loll Kirby and Adelina Lirius

Our Green City by Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Colleen Larmour

We Have a Dream by Mya-Rose Craig and Sabrena Khadija

Your Planet Needs You! by Philip Bunting

Discover more books on our Earth Day reading list!