Spending the weekend at my parent’s home at the beach, we looked forward to celebrating Earth Day by watching the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean. My 86-year-old mom, Wilma Schmitt, joined us. She says she goes over every morning around 6:45 am to walk two miles on the beach to exercise (normally wearing her Apple watch to collect her steps). She always brings two bags with her, collecting any trash along the way.
Beach Walking Wilma
My mom said some days there is a lot of trash, especially after a big storm, including a hurricane. But some days the beach is pretty clean. Wilma also explained she hates the words “climate change” and wishes they would call it something else. “The climate is cyclical. It’s not just young people who care about the environment. People in their 80s care about the beaches and the oceans too,” Wilma said.
Go Mom go! For the record, I call my Mom “Mom”, not Wilma.
Celebrating Earth Day Year Round
My mom is teaching us all important life lessons about celebrating Earth Day 365 days a year.
- When we go to the grocery store, we should bring our own boxes and bags to tote our groceries home.
- When we go out for a walk around our neighborhood, bring a bag to pick up trash. Especially when we go out for a walk with our kids.
- If our kids see us picking up trash, they will get into the habit of doing the same thing.
- And then maybe they won’t throw trash out the window when they are teenagers with their friends later in life.
- My mom is a big believer in parents setting the right example for their kids. I guess that’s why I’m a good cook, drink a lot of water and know how to sew on a button.
Zero Waste Lifestyle
This is a terrific blog about sustainable products written by my Bee Young Communications and Marketing clients earlier this spring. You don’t have to start living a zero waste lifestyle all in a single day. You can start by buying salsa in glass jars or laundry sheets in cardboard envelopes. And build on it from there.
My mom has plastic bags and sour cream containers from the 80s in her kitchen drawers I swear. She keeps reusing them.
Celebrating 52nd Annual Earth Day
In closing, 1 billion people are taking part in Earth Day. The 52nd annual Earth Day will be celebrated across the world. By taking part in activities like picking up litter or planting trees, we’re making our world a happier, healthier place to live.
Long after my mom has moved on to heaven, she’ll be pleased to know that our efforts picking up trash or not using plastic bags or straws has cut down on the amount of trash on the beach. That instead it’ll just be a clean walk on the sand for miles.
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