Celebrate Earth Day from Home

This year’s Earth Day is especially important. The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have added to the awareness that we are all connected. Our daily actions have come to a standstill, and pollution from emissions in major metropolitan areas has declined. Wildlife have reentered quieter communities. But how else can you celebrate Earth Day while you’re at home? Here are a few suggestions from our staff!

Ask a Gardener! 

Submit your gardening or environmental questions by emailing [email protected]. We’ve got a plethora of staff and volunteers who’d be happy to help.

Go on a Discovery Walk with a Young Child

Participate in the Garden Musings Project

Replacing Common Plastic Household Items

Now is a great time to test out those ideas to replace household plastic products. Lindsay Taylor, Director of Institutional Advancement, weighs in on replacements that have worked for her:

This year my fiancé and I decided to challenge ourselves to seriously reduce plastic in our home. And I’m delighted to say that it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

Purchasing Products
One of the most interesting shifts we made was to actually avoid purchasing products in plastic containers. I was a little apprehensive about this task. For one: cookies come in plastic trays! Now we make more cookies than buy them, which is okay … I guess. We’ll see how our pants fit in a few months.

However, there are some items that just don’t come in aluminum, waxed cardboard or glass. If we have to buy something in a plastic container, we try to buy one that has a number 1 or a number 2 stamped in the recycle sign. Apparently those numbers are easier to recycle than other numbers.

Making Our Own Dairy Products
After evaluating the products we were purchasing, we realized that most of the items in plastic containers were dairy products. What a fun problem to solve! We decided to experiment with making our own yogurt and sour cream. The sour cream in particular has been so much tastier than store bought sour cream, and is now the secret ingredient to those tasty baked goods. The first round we made both the yogurt and sour cream on the stove top, and then cranked the heat up in our guest bedroom for the cultures to take hold. That seemed a little silly, so we invested in an InstantPot with a yogurt setting. The second batch turned out much better.

Glass Storage Containers
A few years ago we made the investment in buying glass tupperware containers. Now, I vastly prefer them to their plastic counterparts. They are more easily cleaned and they don’t release toxins when you reheat things in them. We have a combination of square Pyrex containers, and mason jars of varying sizes. So many mason jars.

Silicone Food Storage Bags
I was pretty diligent about washing and reusing my plastic Ziplock bags. But eventually, they wear out and fall apart and I have to purchase more. I started researching different kinds of replacements, and eventually landed on silicone storage bags, because sometimes glass containers just don’t cut it! I particularly needed flexible and lightweight storage for marinating large cuts of meat, ease of storage, and packing for a backpacking or canoe trip. I’ve been particularly impressed with Stasher bags, but they don’t come in any size bigger than a half gallon. For a gallon replacement bag, I went with HomeLux Theory bags. So far, I have been impressed with both – they clean easily and seal nicely.

Bamboo Toothbrushes
Compostable toothbrush? I thought it was impossible. Surely this new toothbrush would not work nor be as comfortable as well as my trusty Oral-B version. I was completely wrong. I found a bamboo toothbrush that was not only fantastic, but also really cost-effective. I did have to do some considerable research here. Some bamboo toothbrushes had terrible reviews, and others weren’t fully compostable. I settled on the o1Brand. One downside: I could not find the product site to purchase without going through Amazon.

Compostable Trashbags
Okay, for this one I need a little help! I have been looking for a good compostable trashbag for years now. Most of them are too small for normal kitchen trashcans, and they don’t come with tabs or a drawstring for easy closing. If anyone has found a good replacement, please let me know!

Every so often, we find ourselves needed to replace a household item. Now with the changes we’ve made, I automatically start researching what plastic-free options there are. Don’t get me wrong, there is still plenty of plastic in our house – from cleaning products to music equipment. If you are interested in making the switch, my recommendation would be to go slow and make adjustments gradually. And don’t beat yourself up if you still need to buy those cookies. Small incremental changes are just as important!

Visit the Online Exhibit: Honoring Trees

Explore the inaugural online art exhibition, Honoring Trees, featuring the work of 14 leading contemporary artists. The exhibition invites us to reflect on the splendor of trees, the challenges climate change and human stresses pose to trees, and our opportunity to respond with creativity and courage.

Curated by Lloyd E. Herman, Founding Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery, and Fran Dubrowski, Director of Honoring the Future, the exhibition is cosponsored by 10 arboretums and nonprofit organizations which help plant and care for trees and educate others about the importance of trees to our future.