Happy Earth Day!
Author: Hannah Hall, Challenge America Program Coordinator
Today we get to celebrate our beautiful Mother Earth. What an amazing honor it is to celebrate all the things this beautiful planet has to offer; from lush rainforests to snowy mountaintops, it feels nearly impossible to see every bit of beauty our Earth has to offer.
Although I love talking about what our Earth has given us, I wanted to take today’s post to talk about things we can give back to our planet. We can all do things like recycle and use less plastic, but another issue that contributes to the wellbeing of our planet is food waste. It is estimated that one third of the food intended for human consumption is wasted. Did you know that food waste embodies about the same amount of carbon dioxide as 42 coal powered plants? Most people think of recycling when thinking of ways to start helping the environment, but food waste is just as big of an issue and can be helped with just small things you can do everyday. Plus, compost holds more water preventing runoff and it is fantastic for your garden or plants.
If you have ever thought about composting or want to get started today - this post is for you! Below are some tips and steps to get started composting and you can read additional information here.
Here are some items that can be tossed in your compost bin instead of the trash can:
All parts of fruits & vegetables
Eggshells
Rice & Grains
Tea Bags
Flowers
Coffee Grounds
Cooked Food without dairy, oil or meat
Paper & Cardboard
Sawdust
Nail Clippings
Hair
For some of you, these may be things you use everyday (I know i certainly drink plenty of coffee)
As you start noticing the use of these compostable items in your home, it is important to sort them (if possible) into green compost and brown compost. “Green” refers to the nitrogen rich items such as coffee grounds, leftover fruits/vegetables, lawn clippings. “Brown” refers to carbon rich items such as egg cartons, paper or dry leaves. The best way to tell the difference between green and brown items are - green compost is wet and brown compost is dry.
When you create your compost, you will want to layer the green and brown, starting with brown to keep the compost aerated. Once you get your compost layered, you will want to stir it (some composting machines will do this for you) every 7-10 days.
Your compost may initially smell like a dumpster but it should start to turn into a more earthy smell and become fluffy like soil. Composting is great to use as mulch, potting soil, or to add to an existing garden!
We hope you all get to enjoy the beauty of Mother Earth today and breathe in all the wonderful things she has to offer us.
