Earth Day Is 4/22

Tomorrow is Earth Day! I have some freebies listed below, but the list isn't as long as it was last year. I also have some Earth Day facts and easy ways to celebrate below.

Some Freebies:

• Pottery Barn: Earth Day Treasure Hunt (week of 4/21). Receive a plantable bookmark if find all clues. 
• Free admission to National Parks April 19-20th.
• Target usually celebrates with events in-store. The last few years, they have given out free goodie bags.
• Anthropologie: Butterfly craft for kids.
• Disney: Bring in 5 plastic bags for a free reusable Disneynature Bears bag.
• Qdoba: Buy one entree, get one free. First 200 customers per store get a free reusable bag.
• Some libraries and bookstores offer freebies like story times, bookmarks, pencils, and some even offer free trees. 
• I have heard Jo Ann Fabrics is offering free bags (until supplies run out), but I haven't found anything to confirm yet.

Not So Free Options:

• Caribou Coffee: Free coffee when you buy their Earth Month reusable mug.
• Glass Straw by glass dharma after you complete a survey (you pay shipping)
• Starbucks will give you $0.10 off your coffee when you use a reusable mug. Last year they gave away free coffee, but I haven't found anything to confirm they are this year. 
• Many grocery stores will offer $0.05-$0.10 off your purchase when you bring in a reusable bag.

When is Earth Day?
This year, Earth Day is Tuesday 4/22/14.

What is Earth Day?
Earth Day was begun to celebrate and raise awareness about the Earth and its environment. It is celebrated world-wide. The first observation of Earth Day was on 3/21/1970. The United Nations made April 22 International Mother Earth Day in 2009. Lately, the focus on Earth Day had been about recycling, reusing, and reducing your carbon footprint.

Easy Ways to Celebrate:

• Plant a tree in your yard.
• Have the kids help you sort the recycling and bring it to the recycling bins.
• Let the kids pick out flowers and have them plant them in the garden.
• Recycle used cans, bottle caps, or paper towel/toilet paper rolls into crafts. (I have a wind chime craft that uses bottle caps and lots of paper towel/toilet paper roll crafts.) Even old broken crayons can be recycled into new crayons, stained glass, or help make a suncatcher!
• Start a vegetable garden in your yard.
• If the park/store is close by, walk instead of driving your car.
• Have the kids help clean up trash at the local park. Many cities have a community clean up event for Earth Day.

2013 Freebies, 2014 Freebie info from websites

Links:

• Wiki, Earth Day
• To find out your carbon footprint, check out www.carbonfootprint.com
• Wiki, Carbon Footprint