Earth Month Bingo!

We’re well into Earth Month—April, that is! The love for our shared planet couldn’t be contained to just one day. Globally, there’s so much action happening around climate change, land and wildlife conservation, and sustainability. It can be daunting to figure out how one person can make a change or start an earth-friendly habit.

To make things fun, we’ve created an Earth Month bingo card to spark your celebration ideas. Whether you’re a backyard gardener or an Earth Day rallyer, read further for a few activities from our bingo card that will serve as a timely reminder: There is no Planet B! 

Watch a nature documentary

Who knew you could celebrate Earth Month right from your couch? Kick back, grab the remote, and try out these mesmerizing nature documentary recommendations. Or you could just watch the one with Will Smith in it.

• Our Great National Parks, presented by former President Barack Obama
• David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
• Kiss the Ground
• Tiny World, narrated by Paul Rudd
• America the Beautiful

Do a recycling audit

You may think you can recycle that item, but you really can’t. With over 9,000 community recycling programs across the U.S., there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what materials can or cannot be recycled. Oftentimes, when a batch of household recycling is mixed with unaccepted items, the entire batch is thrown away, resulting in a lower overall recycling rate.

Websites like How2Recycle can help with general guidelines and understanding package disposal labels, but ultimately you’ll want to check with your city or locality’s recycling guidance to make sure you are only placing accepted items in the recycling bins. 

Many people collect their recyclables in plastic grocery store bags and toss it all in the recycling bin for pickup day. In reality, less than half of plastic packaging is recyclable, and plastic bags and films are one of the least recyclable materials. They usually end up jamming the materials sorting equipment.

Lots of household waste is also being under-recycled! Just 21% of residential recyclables are being recycled. Find out exactly which materials can be processed in your community—you might be surprised to find that batteries, old cords, or wood are accepted in your city’s recycling program.

Try new recipes

You’ve definitely heard of Meatless Monday. But have you heard about Scrappy Saturday?

This Earth Month, we invite you to try new ways of preparing food. Maybe there’s a vegetarian or vegan recipe you’ve been eyeing (vegetarian diets result in ∼35% lower greenhouse gas emissions than most current omnivore diets, after all!), or wondering how to reduce household food waste.

No-waste or “scrappy” cooking is just what it sounds like—diverting as much food and food packaging from the landfill as possible. This can look like: using leaves, stems, greens, seeds, peels, and skins in other recipes (think roasted pumpkin seeds or kale stem pesto); juicing or blending and dehydrating scraps to make soup or smoothie add-ins, saving kitchen scraps to make homemade stock, or freezing, pickling, and jam-making. 

As a last resort, you could try starting a small backyard (or apartment patio) compost bin, just as an experiment. If you’re a city dweller committed to the cause (or just have no use for compost), many localities have public or private compost collection programs. Find one near you!

Become a citizen scientist

Did you know April is also Citizen Science Month? This month recognizes the contributions of everyday citizens toward broad, efficient, and vast data collection. Science is not only conducted by folks in white coats! Read this blog on participatory science in bird watching. 

Attend an Earth Day event

Use the interactive map on the official Earth Day website to find an Earth Day event near you, register an event, and get even more ideas about how to help the planet. Our bingo card is light work compared to the 50 Earth Day tips provided. Happy Earth Month!