For the last 5 years or so, I’ve started on the slow journey to being more sustainable. It started on Earth Day 2016 when I realized that as much as I loved the earth, I wasn’t being a good steward of our planet. I knew that I wanted to do more than simply celebrate with photos of how the earth ‘wow’ed me, which is how I had celebrated it before. So, 5 years ago, Matt and I did our first Earth Day cleanup at a local greenway. We’ve picked up trash on Earth Day ever since. This year, Earth Day is even more different. Since having Charleigh, I see my task of sustainable living as even more important because I’m not just being good to the earth for me, but for my daughter as well.
We’ve been watching a lot of documentaries and listening to podcasts that have to do with sustainability and while I have lightyears to go, I’m proud that I am working harder to take simple steps. There’s that quote that we don’t need one person doing sustainability perfectly, we need 1 million people living sustainably imperfectly.
Covid-19 put a lot of our sustainability efforts on the back burner because businesses put a hold on using people’s reusable products like bags, cups and containers. I completely understand the reasoning behind all of those efforts, but it did hurt my heart to be producing so much more waste than normal. Luckily, as things open back up and get closer and closer to back to normal, we’ve been able to start using reusable products at local businesses again.
We did do a few things right last year, though. Matt got me a composter for our anniversary last year and we have been able to send less to our local landfill and create some compost for our gardens! We also ate at home so much more during Covid-19 which meant we created less waste in that sense as well since everything would’ve been in to-go containers. That said, we also picked up some bad habits that we had been better about in the past that we need to get back on top of. Between a pandemic + pregnancy, we definitely took a lot more short cuts than before.
Today, Matt and I loaded Charleigh up to go to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield to pick up trash on the trails there. It’s our annual tradition, and one I’m excited to be sharing with our sweet baby girl. We were really pleased that there wasn’t that much trash on the trail we took, but we still picked up a decent amount between the trail and parking areas.
My Earth Day 2021 Resolutions
CONSUME LESS MEAT – Especially red meat. This is something I’ve never had a problem with, but something about being pregnant had me eating so much beef! I’ve never really enjoyed beef and I had so much over the 9 months of pregnancy and my love and appreciation spilled over past pregnancy, so that’s something I’m going to cut back on. My goal is three meatless meals a week and red meat only once a week while I’m weaning myself back off of it.
MAKE ALL OF CHARLEIGH’S BABY FOOD – This is important to me for multiple reasons. I want to make sure that I can control what’s going into her body and pre-made stuff is so wasteful! My cousin bought me an amazing baby food maker and I have some reusable baby food containers so the waste will be minimal compared to purchasing containers.
FIND MORE SUSTAINABLE BREAST MILK STORAGE – Right now, what I have is the plastic storage bags and it hurts my heart every single time I have to throw one out. So, I’m going to research some reusable options that are freezable.
SHOP LESS – I don’t have a terrible shopping habit like I used to, but I still fall prey to fast fashion often enough. I’m going to focus more on quality pieces that will last a long time and have a smaller footprint and contain less plastic.
DO MORE CLEANUPS – I’ve already picked up some trash on the hikes we’ve taken this year, but I want to be even more intentional about it. We love our local greenways and the hiking trails we get to take advantage of while traveling, and we want to be part of keeping them beautiful.
A Little Earth-Love Inspiration
I always love to share some different destinations that left me in awe of the earth from the past year. We didn’t get outside as often or as far as we typically would because of the pandemic and also because I spent the majority of the last year pregnant. But we did manage to see some spectacular things and I hope these pics inspire you to get outside and continue falling in love with the earth.
BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER, ARKANSAS
Steele Creek Overlook to be exact. This is where we kicked off 2020.
ROARING RIVER STATE PARK, MISSOURI
We spent a day discovering new hiking trails at this Missouri State Park.
BRANSON WATERFALL TRAIL, MISSOURI
Matt and I discovered this trail early last year and it has become one of our go-to trails!
BUSIEK STATE FOREST, MISSOURI
This is our favorite local hiking spot. It’s a short drive from our house, but also makes us feel like we’re somewhere remote. We visited Busiek a lot last year and it will hold a special place in our heart forever, I think. It was also the location of Charleigh’s very first hike.
OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS, MISSOURI
I made two visits to the Ozark Nation Scenic Riverways last year. One visit on my 30th birthday with Matt (Greer Spring) and our normal Ozarks National Scenic Riverways spots with my parents and my aunt, which was a super fun getaway.
TABLE ROCK LAKE, MISSOURI
My cousin stayed at his family cabin on the lake during shutdown and he was gracious enough to let us come down and hang out a couple of times. It was a perfect respite filled with hikes, porch swinging with a lake view, dock talks and even a boat ride.
WILSON’S CREEK NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD, MISSOURI
It had been years since visiting Wilson’s Creek, but Matt had never been. They stopped charging an entrance fee, so we took advantage of it by visiting loads.
CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, UTAH
Canyonlands is something special. Getting to see the amazing beauty and power of water is sure to make anyone feel small in the very best way.
GOBLIN VALLEY STATE PARK, UTAH
I love rock formations and this is one of the most amazing and unique concentration of hoodoos I’ve ever seen!
LITTLE WILD HORSE SLOT CANYON, UTAH
This was our first slot canyon adventure and it left me itching for more. Every corner brought a new exciting shape or formation.
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, UTAH
Arches National Park holds over 2,000 natural bridges/arches. Even though this was my third visit to this park, we still were able to discover something new!
GLENWOOD CANYON, COLORADO
I love the drive through Glenwood Canyon. It was totally different because of the tragic wildfires that had cut through this area, but we still managed to sneak in a little riverside hike on one of our pregnancy road trip breaks.
I hope that you guys have had a spectacular Earth Day! How did you celebrate? And how are you making every day Earth Day?!
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