I love the quote by Wendell Berry, “The Earth is what we all have in common.” It gives me a really beautiful sense of connectedness with humankind and I think when we all look at our connection with Earth in this way, it is hopefully a motivator to be better stewards of this land.

I have to say, I have been very lazy about my sustainable practices since becoming a mother. Which is crazy because I feel so protective of our planet – probably more so now knowing I’m handing it down to my own daughter and son, but being a mom is also really, really hard. However, my kids are getting older and I feel it getting just a tiny bit easier each month.

As the saying goes, we don’t need 1 person practicing sustainability perfectly, we need 1 million people practicing sustainability imperfectly. If you’ve been around my blog for long, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of “starting over” or of using dates to mark a start to something, and Earth Day is often the day that I truly look at my life and try to find places that I can be just a little bit better. There are a lot this year.

Simple Ways I’m Going to Better Attempt to Practice Sustainability This Year

Compost – Guys, I have a wonderful composter, and I love having compost, but sometimes I truly cannot be bothered to walk downstairs and through our yard to put it in the composter. No more. I’m not putting anymore compostable foods into the landfill.
Use my reusable coffee cup – I’ve gotten so lazy about this as well! I have a few different ones but I typically get coffee through the drive-thru because kids. But as Charleigh has started preschool, I will say I could much more easily get Liam inside to use my reusable cup.
Cook more meals at home – Not having to-go containers in the landfill is a huge benefit, but also we can control what goes into our food, what stays out of our food and we can ensure that there’s as little waste as possible.
Do better at trail cleanup – Truthfully, it’s hard to do this when you have a 25lb kid literally strapped to your back. But now that Charleigh is mostly hiking on her own, we have a lot more wiggle room to bend and pick up trash without throwing out my back out. And when I don’t have the kids, I want to have a trash bag with me every hike.
Bundle errands into trips I have to take – Now that we have Charleigh in preschool, I’m honestly driving more than I have in years. One of my simple goals is to try to be more organized so that I can map out my day around the drive to and from preschool to save on gas.
Use fewer paper towels and wipes – Not using washrags, dishrags, etc. has become the norm in our home. It has just felt easier than having to do more laundry than the massive amount two kids (three and one) accumulate. I’m just feeling more motivated and feel I have more space to do more around the house.

How I Celebrated Earth Day Today

I typically do a cleanup with Matt, but he wasn’t feeling the best today. Luckily, my dear, dear friend Alaina was more than willing to go to a local greenway and pick up trash with me! We managed to pick up a fair amount of trash and then we treated ourselves to a beer afterward out on a patio. It was a great way to celebrate Earth Day with such a dear, dear friend.

Now, A Little Earth Celebration

I love to end on a positive note of some truly stunning places we’re fortunate enough to get to see and experience on this beautiful planet we all call home. So, here are some of the incredible places we saw between 4/22/23 and 4/22/24.

The Buffalo River and Ozark National Forest area of Arkansas

We spent 27 days in this region in 2023. We love this area so much! We hike dozens of miles in Northwest Arkansas every year and it truly never gets old. Some of our favorites from the last year are Magnolia Falls, Hideout Hollow, Hawksbill Crag and Sams Throne. I am so glad that this land is protected and I will always fight to keep our Ozarks sacred and beautiful.

Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

Petit Jean is such a beautiful state park in central Arkansas. We’d been before and have plans to go again this year, but it never gets old. There are waterfalls, insane rock formations, caves and more.

Ozarks National Scenic Riverways, Missouri

Another local favorite is the Ozarks National Riverways. The Current and Jacks Fork Rivers come together to create this beautiful area. Natural, striking blue springs and stunning bluffs are sprinkled throughout the region as well.

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

I love Petrified Forest National Park. I think it’s a really underrated park. It’s not the same caliber as other grand, larger parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion, etc. But it is absolutely stunning. Anytime I travel through this part of the country – it’s literally right off the highway – I will pop in and do the Blue Mesa hike.

Beavers Bend State Park, Oklahoma

Beavers Bend State Park was the location of my dad’s and my father/daughter hiking trip this year. My dad saw it on an outdoor magazine and it was really pretty! We had a couple true favorite trails: Friends Trail and Cedar Bluff Overlook Trail. It’s always fun to get to see a brand new natural space on this beautiful planet of ours.

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

We made a one-day stop at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. It was a full day of rim-walking, looking down into the canyon and watched the way the colors of the canyon walls transformed as the sun rose higher in the sky and then slipped below the horizon.

Sequoia National Park, California

I had been to Sequoia National Park once before, but it was very brief and this time we were here for a few days and stayed in the park. It was magical. We didn’t get to see everything we wanted because of some fires, traveling with toddlers and some closures, but it was still just so incredible. These 2000-year-old giants hold so much history in the rings of their trunks. They’re resilient, strong and so beautiful. I felt an intense connection to this park and these ancient groves.

Yosemite National Park, California

Oh, Yosemite. I don’t even really have the words to express the love I have for this place. It’s the first place I’ve ever been that made me unsure if Moab was my most favorite place. (Don’t worry, I’ve decided they’re both number one, which is allowed because they’re so different – haha) The mountains here are so magnificent. Like, truly magnificent. You can’t understand how significant these mountains and this valley are until you’re there. Seeing The Valley for the first time made me cry. I don’t know that a place has ever filled me with so much wonder as Yosemite has. I can’t wait to go back.

Joshua Tree National Park, California

Joshua Tree is such a unique place. Filled with rugged hills, rock formations, various species of cacti and, of course, joshua trees that give this park its name.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend is one of those places that make me feel like I’m home. Its remoteness feels safe to me. Like the mountains and the canyons would shelter me from anything. I’ve always loved desertscapes and this one compiles mountains, rock formations, canyons and sage green desert bushes and cacti. I just love Big Bend and hope to get back here again very soon.

I hope that on this Earth Day, you’re able to appreciate our beautiful planet, to do something outside that fills your soul with wonder at this beautiful natural world around us.