Get involved for Earth Month
Complete a Mission to Act Now
The biodiversity and climate crises are real and happening, but we still have a small window of opportunity to Act Now and make a difference. YOU can make a difference. Helping the biodiversity and climate on our planet is an important task, and it can be fun, educational, and also bring people together. Participate with your family, friends, coworkers, or others in your life. There is a reason to Hope and the time to Act is Now! Act Now includes various tasks, or missions, that each benefit the biodiversity crisis or climate crisis, or both. Explore the different categories, such as being water-wise or going organic, and see which missions speak to you. You can start small and simple, and then work toward the bigger missions, or just continue with the simpler tasks. Act Now isn’t about completely altering your lifestyle, how much money you have, or where you live. It’s about the everyday choices you make, spreading awareness, contributing in the ways that you can, and working together. Even small changes, like leaving the leaves in the Fall and Spring, switching to LED lighting, or avoiding eating meat on Mondays, lead to a healthier planet.
Lets Take Action
Each completed mission will enter you in a raffle to win exciting prizes such as Bronze membership to the museum, a 4 pack of Quarry tickets, Mosasaur Bundle, or a 4 pack of VR tickets just to name a few. Winners will be announced each week on Friday throughout the month of April.
Help the Biodiversity Crisis
Make Observations & Contribute to Scientific Research - Download the iNaturalist App
Help contribute to biodiversity science by making observations of the different organisms you encounter. Every observation submitted is shared with scientific data repositories, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The data collected can help scientists with their research in areas related to the biodiversity crisis and conservation. In return, iNaturalist can also help you identify the various animals, plants, and fungi you may see every day. Let's get observing!
Mission: Make 25 Observations on iNaturalist
Mission: Make 50 Observations on iNaturalist
Mission: Make 100 Observations on iNaturalist
Learn More
Help the Climate Crisis: Let’s Be Water-Wise
Take a Shorter Shower
Taking a long, hot shower after a long day is a common habitual practice for many people. Showering may keep us clean and help destress, but taking a shorter shower is actually beneficial. Shorter shower times can reduce your water and energy use, bring down costs, and provide health benefits. Showers use more water than anywhere else in a home and approximately 25% of a household's power use comes from heating water, especially for our hot showers. Additionally, shorter shower times can improve your skin and hair health due to shortened exposure to hot water which can dry out your skin and nails. Mission: Take less time while showering. Time yourself to see how you do.
Water plants in the morning
Amazingly enough, the time of day you choose to water your plants makes a difference. Watering your plants in the morning is more efficient and healthier for the plants compared to evening watering. Morning watering supplies the plants with water to get them through the day and also gives them time to dry before the sun sets. If you water your plants in the evening or nighttime, the water may not get absorbed into the soil and roots, possibly resulting in fungal growth, rot, and insect visitors. Plan accordingly and aim to water your plants in the morning hours. Mission: Water your plants in the morning hours.
Install a rain barrel
Installing a rain barrel on your property is an affordable and efficient way to conserve water and reduce stormwater runoff. The water collected in your rain barrel can be used to clean outdoors and water your non-edible plants which prevents any excess use of water. Additionally, whenever it rains, stormwater runoff can collect pollutants like grease and oil from the ground which can flow into rivers, streams, and other bodies of water. This can be very harmful to aquatic ecosystems and also pollutes our clean water. Rain barrels help to prevent these negative impacts on the environment. Mission: Get a rain barrel installed on your property.
Help the Climate Crisis: Let’s Be Water-Wise
Help the Biodiversity Crisis: Act Natural, Go Organic
Leave the Leaves
You may see plenty of leaves, brush piles, plant stems, and fallen logs in your yard, but consider leaving some of it in the fall and winter and wait until late spring to clean up your yard. Areas that contain leaf litter, brush piles, or other kinds of vegetation, may actually be habitats for small wildlife, including beneficial pollinator insects. By cleaning up your yard and throwing away all the vegetative debris, you’re not only taking away habitats from these small animals, but you might be throwing them away, too.
Avoid using chemical pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers
The use of fertilizers and different pesticides, like herbicides and insecticides, have caused severe declines in biodiversity. A healthy ecosystem is made up of various diverse species that depend on one another to survive, but the use of fertilizers and pesticides have disrupted the function of many ecosystems. The best way you can help the biodiversity crisis is to avoid using these chemicals. Instead, use safer, chemical-free alternatives that you can even make in your own home. Mission: Don’t use chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers in your yard.
Grow an organic vegetable garden
Organic gardening comes with many benefits. Since no chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers are used in organic gardening, aquatic ecosystems and water supplies are safer from those chemicals accessing and contaminating them. Organic gardening also protects beneficial insects, small animals, and birds by providing them a healthy habitat to live in. Organic gardening has also proven to be cost saving on produce and provides immense mental health benefits to reduce stress. You can start small, and as your garden grows with more variety, genetic diversity will expand. Mission: Grow an organic vegetable plant.
Help the Biodiversity Crisis: Act Natural, Go Organic
Help the Biodiversity & Climate Crises: Diversify & Maintain Your Yard, Heal Our Ecosystems & Climate
Build a bird feeder
Building a bird feeder can be a fun and sustainable way for you to provide birds with habitat and food. Put out your bird feeders around September and October to support migratory birds, and then peak activity will take place between November and March when natural food sources are scarce. Remember to take down your bird feeders during the spring and summer months. Use this time to clean and repair them for the next fall. Keep in mind that we want to help the birds when they need it, but we do not want to make them depend on us. Mission: Build a bird feeder and add to your yard.
Remove an invasive species from your yard
Invasive species are organisms that are not native to a particular ecosystem. They tend to reproduce quickly, spread aggressively, and can outcompete native species. These organisms can be animals, plants, algae, fungi, or pathogens, and can affect all terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These invasive species can be introduced accidentally or intentionally, and they typically do not have any natural predators. Help protect native species by removing any invasive plants or pests from your yard and replace them with native plants to help the native ecosystem thrive. Mission: Remove one invasive species (insect, plant, etc.) from your yard.
Plant a native species in your yard (plants & trees)
Planting native plant species has a significant impact on other native species, like insects, birds, and other animals, that depend on the native plants they evolved with. Invasive species, even plants, are a serious danger to native ecosystems, so remove any invasive species and replace them with native species to help rebuild the natural habitats. Planting native plant species will help maintain a healthy and diverse ecosystem for all. Mission: Plant one native species in your yard.
Plant a pollination garden
Pollinators are a group of species that are crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems and increasing biodiversity. Animals such as bees, butterflies, moths, and even some birds and bats are pollinators that depend on their native flowering plants to survive, and those flowering plants also depend on the pollinators to flourish. Pollinator gardens can help provide food for these pollinator species, and in return, pollinators help the flowering plants reproduce and thrive. By planting your own pollinator garden, you can help reverse the decline in pollinators, and in biodiversity as a whole. Mission: Plant some native flowering plants that will attract pollinators.
Plant a milkweed garden
Planting milkweed in your garden can help the monarch butterfly populations, support other pollinators, and create a low-maintenance native garden that supports biodiversity. Monarchs rely heavily on milkweed because they provide food and habitat for the butterflies and caterpillars, as well as migration corridors for the butterflies. Milkweed also attracts other pollinator species. When planting milkweed, select the right species for your yard and be mindful of where you plant it due to its toxicity to pets. A little research and maintenance in your yard can help support the monarchs and many other pollinators. Mission: Add some milkweed plants to your yard. But make sure it’s the right species for your yard!
Help the Biodiversity & Climate Crises: Diversify & Maintain Your Yard, Heal Our Ecosystems & Climate
Help the Biodiversity & Climate Crises: Eat More Vegetables & Less Meat
Help the Biodiversity Crisis:
The livestock industry is considered one of the leading industries that contribute to the biodiversity crisis. In fact, agricultural production and expansion causes more than 80% of deforestation on Earth. Switching to a more plant-based diet can reduce deforestation and prevent declines in species populations. If the human population’s demand for meat products continues to rise, the resulting impacts from further deforestation will negatively affect the habitats and food sources for wildlife and plants. The negative impacts of deforestation can cause species to vanish from an area and extreme habitat loss. Mission: Try a meat-substitute product
Help the Climate Crisis:
The negative environmental impacts caused by the livestock industry, such as greenhouse gas emissions and excessive water usage, can be reduced by consuming more plant-based foods and less meat. The livestock industry produces large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, that all contribute to the climate crisis. Approximately 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the production of animal products such as meat, dairy, and eggs. That is more than the world's entire transportation sector combined. Additionally, meat products, especially beef, have the highest water footprint of all foods. Mission: Take a beef-free pledge
help Your Health
Consuming more plant-based foods, such as vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts, and less animal-based products, particularly red and processed meats, provide us with many health benefits. A high consumption of red and processed meats are connected to various chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and some cancers. By focusing on a more plant-based diet and less on red and processed meats can reduce cholesterol and risks of heart disease, improve kidney health, boost your immune system, and more. Mission: Take a Meatless Monday pledge
Help the Biodiversity & Climate Crises: Eat More Vegetables & Less Meat
Help the Climate Crisis: Reduce Your Energy Use At Home
Air dry your clothes when possible instead of using a household dryer
Drying our clothes with household dryers is a common practice, especially in the United States. However, dryers are one of the highest energy-consuming appliances in people’s homes. Instead of always drying your clothes using a dryer, try air-drying them. Air-drying will help your clothing last longer and prevent shrinking and fading. Clothes can be naturally dried using fresh air instead of the high heat and friction from dryers. Additionally, nothing can beat the amazing smell of fresh air and sunshine that gets infused in your clothes when you air dry them outside on a beautiful day. Mission: After washing your clothing, hang them outside to dry or on a drying rack inside.
Switch to LED lighting in your home
Lighting is a fundamental aspect of our homes that we use daily, but can also consume a lot of energy. Turning on lights to help us see has become engrained within human behavior, and lighting has been a necessity for people ever since its introduction to our world. Switching to light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs is an efficient and affordable way to reduce your energy use at home. LED light bulbs last longer and emit little heat compared to other types of light bulbs, like incandescent. LED lighting is currently considered the cleanest and most energy efficient kind of illumination to date. Mission: Replace a non-LED light bulb with an LED light bulb in your home.
Install an electrical range in your home
Electrifying your home by installing an electric range comes with many advantages. Electric ranges can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be more cost-effective, and improve indoor air quality and your health. Reduce your exposure, as well as Earth’s exposure, to dangerous gases, such as nitrous dioxide, by utilizing an electric range in your home. Mission: Switch to an electrical range in your home.
Install a heat pump in your home
Replacing your traditional home heating and air conditioning systems with a heat pump brings many benefits to us, as well as our planet. Installing a heat pump will reduce your home’s carbon emissions, and can also lower your utility bills. Heat pumps are capable of both heating and cooling your home efficiently, even in extremely cold weather. You can help fight against the climate crisis while also making your home more comfortable and efficient. Mission: Install a heat pump in your home.
Change the source of energy in your home
Switching your home from fossil fuel-powered energy to renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind, has many benefits for the climate, your home, and yourself. In most parts of the world, renewable energy is considered the most affordable source of energy and power. Solar is approximately 41% cheaper and offshore wind is about 53% cheaper than fossil fuels. Switching to renewable energy sources in your home will also reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Minimize your carbon footprint and live more comfortably by having an energy-efficient home. Mission: Change the source of energy in your home (solar, wind, etc.)
