Happy Hump Day
Today is Earth Day, and the 2026 theme is “Our Power, Our Planet.” While there is a lot of talk about high-tech solutions to climate change, we often find that the best answers come from the past.
In Marilyn’s latest story, she talked about how nothing was ever “tossed out” on the farm—everything was mended, patched, or repurposed. That wasn’t just about saving money; it was the original form of “Environmentalism.”
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The “Farm Way” to Celebrate: * The “Seed Swap”: Many local libraries and community centers are hosting seedling swaps today. It’s a great way to trade a few of your extra tomato starts for some marigolds!
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Nature Walking: If you’re near a trail in the Valley or anywhere across Canada, take a 15-minute “Forest Bathing” walk. Focus on the bird songs—the robins are finally back in full force!
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Upcycle a Memory: Instead of buying something new, find one thing in your house today that can be “mended” rather than replaced.
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If you have a special way to celebrate Earth Day please let us know. Reply to this email or drop a comment in the box under the article on the website. We always look forward to hearing from our readers.
We avoid plastic like the plague. Unfortunately our shops make such avoidance difficult.
Pre-packaged meats, vegetables and other supposedly fresh products are invariably wrapped in plastic and plastic trays.
I grow veggies at home in a small raised veggie plot. Capsicum, lettuce, peas, beans, beetroot, tomatoes to avoid having to buy in a pre-packaged format.
And when forced to buy veggies we buy from a true fresh fruit and veggies outlet. Avoiding plastic wrapped product.
We buy our meat from the butcher shop instead of the super Mart to again avoid pre-packaged meat in plastic wrapping. A little more expensive but fresher and top quality.
We place all our veggie waste in our mulcher which ends up back in the soil of our veggie garden.
And recycle other waste where possible. Clothing, etc, go to a local charity to, hopefully, be re-used.
Very little ends up in our red waste bin.
Can but try eh?
Cheers Ross
You’re right Ross. Stores don’t make it easy to avoid plastic. I think changes are coming although they’re slow. The only way it will speed up is if more people complain. Most people are pretty complacent though since they’ve been used to the convenience for years. Making changes always feel inconvenient and resistance is high.