10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2024

Another Earth Day is upon us and while the current climate may seem a little rocky, there’s never been a better or more pressing time to celebrate climate action. 

Many organizations have taken Earth Day one step further, celebrating an entire Earth Month. We’ve seen some great action come out of celebrations like these, but perhaps most importantly, these events get employees excited about sustainability, climate action, and the role they play in it.

However, not everyone works for big organizations that can afford these types of celebrations. If you’re a stay-at-home carer, a student, a retiree or anyone in between, you can still partake in Earth Day celebrations!

Since Earth Day falls on a Monday this year, our team has chosen to celebrate this weekend. This gives our team the freedom to celebrate in a way that is unique to each of us and lets us express our different interests. Our team has a few different ideas of how we’re going to spend the weekend, so if you need some inspiration to get out there and celebrate, give these a go!

Gardening 🌱

Gardening is a great way to spend time outside, without having to deal with the chaos of crowds. For some people, it’s even therapeutic. 

This is a great opportunity to not only add some color to your space but also will help support pollinators. Bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and more all appreciate a lush garden, and may even make a home of your little green space. 

If you want to participate in restoring native habitats, find what plants are native to your areas. National Audubon Society has a list of native plants that will bring local birds to your yard, and if you live in California, look through the list provided by the California Native Plant Society. 

Conversely, you can also use your yard space to grow your own fruits and veggies! You can buy organic seeds at just about any nursery, and it is a great way to cut down on your grocery bill. 

Volunteering 🤝

If you have some spare time this weekend, think about signing up for a volunteer event in your community. Tree plantings, beach cleanups, and other activities can be a great way to connect with your community and do some good.

Earthday.org has an interactive map that shows you all of the volunteer opportunities and Earth Day events happening around the world and in your community. 

Spend Time Outdoors 🏄

If you’re eager to get out and play, head to the great outdoors for your Earth Day festivities! Whether it be hiking, camping, surfing, fishing, mountain biking, snorkeling, or any other of the amazing activities you could do outside, spending time outdoors is restorative and will help you build memories with those closest to you.

In fact, the National Parks Service wants to encourage people to get outdoors by hosting their annual Parks Week. From April 20-28, visitors can stop by any park in the country to celebrate what our natural landscapes have to offer. To kick things off, all park entrance fees will be waived on April 20th.

Local Events 🎪

If you have little ones in your household or are looking to connect with your community, consider going to one of the many Earth Day celebrations and fairs that will be happening around the world this weekend. You can use the same Earth Day link from above to find fairs near you (almost all of them are kid-friendly!)

If you live in California, here are some of the events that are at the top of our radar:

San Diego Earth Fest (4/20/24)

Earth Day Fair | City of Glendale (4/20/24)

Earth Day 661 | Bakersfield (4/21/24)

Earth Day Celebration | UC Berkeley (4/20/24)

Support Local Farms 🥕

Chances are your local farmer’s market will be going on this Saturday or Sunday, so stop by and show your support for local farms! Many of these farms are small, family-owned businesses that rely on the support of the community to stay in business. If you have the room in your budget, stop by and pick up a couple of items to lend your support.

Education 🎓

Feel like staying in this weekend? No problem, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate Earth Day from the comfort of your home. One of those is by signing up for a course and learning about climate action or sustainability.

Courses vary in topics, but there are plenty out there to choose from. Here are just a few of our favorites:

The Underswell School of Understanding: We’re a little biased, but our course is great for providing you with the fundamentals of climate action and getting you up to speed on all of the must-know topics.

Kiss the Ground: These are great courses if you’re interested in regenerative agriculture or regenerative gardening. Not sure what regenerative practices are? All the more reason to dive in and learn about this transformational system.

Reconsidered: Offering courses for professionals who are looking to work in an impact career, Reconsidered is great for those who have some understanding of the sustainability landscape but aren’t sure how their skills can translate to a career in climate.

Reading 📚

If you’re short on funds or maybe don’t have the time to commit to a course, pick up a sustainability-related book that you can read in your free time. Even better, try an audiobook that you can listen to on your daily commute!

Here are just some of our top picks:

The Future of the Responsible Company by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley

Net Positive by Andrew Winston & Paul Polman

The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken

Donating 💰

Have some extra cash on you, but are short on time? Consider donating some of your funds to an environmental charity! It may seem like a small act, but donating to these organizations helps keep them going, and can even help them expand their team to scale their impact. 

If you’re not sure which charities are the best to donate to, turn to Charity Watch. They grade thousands of charities, so you can trust which organizations you’re giving your money to.

Advocate 📣

No matter where you are in the world or what your economic standing is, all of us can be advocates for the world we want to see. If you believe in climate action, take to social media to make your voice heard! If you don’t have social media, take some time to write a letter (or email) to your elected official demanding climate action.

Consider starting a club at your school or becoming a member of a local environmental organization within your community.

Challenge Yourself 💪

Lastly, this is one of our most fun ideas on how to celebrate Earth Day - challenge yourself! Commit to go zero waste for the whole weekend, or choose to go vegan for a day. From reducing consumption to eliminating waste, and everything in between, there are hundreds of ways to challenge yourself to reduce your impact on the planet.

Give it a try and let us know how you challenged yourself!

That concludes our list of recommendations for Earth Day 2024 - did anything catch your eye? However you choose to celebrate, have a wonderful and safe Earth Day!

Thanks, and we’ll see you back here next week ✌️