It is humankind’s responsibility to be kind to the world that sustains us. This month, I encourage you to make time to celebrate and give back to our world’s greatest healer, Mother Nature herself. Join us in an ongoing conversation around sustainability and be a part of the solution. Investing in a greener lifestyle today will ensure a happier and healthier tomorrow.
Here are three ways to honor, preserve, and protect Mother Nature.
Spend Time in Nature
Take to the trees and appreciate her generosity through nature therapy. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, defines the healing powers of time in the outdoors – away from traffic, screens, and stressors. Eco-therapy reconnects us with nature and transforms our health. Studies have shown that forest bathing reduces stress hormone production, improves feelings of happiness, lowers heart rate and blood pressure, and boosts immunity i. This time in the outdoors provides the foundation for a greater connection with nature that will help ground your commitment to sustainability. Start by visiting one of the many incredible forests in the U.S. Once you’re there, root your hands or feet into her soil and pledge to take care of her as she has taken care of you.
Learn to Compost
At GT’s Living Foods we make sure 100% of our byproduct (tea, fruit, vegetables, and even SCOBYs) gets composted. Our focus is to sustainably divert these materials to composting to better the earth and enrich the soil, just as everything we craft betters and enriches our bodies. Food scraps and yard waste which currently take up more than 30% of waste ii. Compost keeps these materials out of landfills, enriches the soil, and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, encourages the production of beneficial fungi to create nutrient-rich materials. And best of all, it reduces methane emissions from landfills and lowers your carbon footprint. To start composting at home, select your food scraps, store them, and choose where you will compost. You can give your food scraps to someone else to compost, some cities will collect them for you, or you can make compost at home with an outdoor bin.
Make Sustainable Swaps
Mindful living at its core encourages us to take stock of practices in our daily lives and edit to better serve the life we want to live. As someone who is always looking to be more eco-conscious, making small swaps at home has been a wonderful place to start. Whether it is removing plastic by switching to reusable straws and beeswax wraps, or investing in eco-friendly light solutions and committing to a package-free lifestyle, these simple swaps make a significant impact on the environment. With an estimated 8 million tons of plastic iii flowing into the ocean each year, it is more important than ever that we make sustainable solutions a priority in every aspect of our lives.
If this is your first foray into living more sustainably, or you have been here before and are revisiting your dedication to Mother Nature, I hope that these tips inspire you to continue your journey in preserving and appreciating the world around us.
References
1. (2022, April 8). Forest Bathing: What It Is and Why You Should Try it. Kaiser Permanente Thrive. https://thrive.kaiserpermanente.org/thrive-together/live-well/forest-bathing-try
2. Composting at Home. United States Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home#:~:text=off%20composting%20program.-,Benefits%20of%20Composting,a%20rich%20nutrient%2Dfilled%20material
3. Parker, Laura. (2019, June 17). The World’s Plastic Pollution Crisis Explained. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/plastic-pollution#:~:text=Every%20year%2C%20about%208%20million,of%20coastline%20around%20the%20world.
