Earth Week 2021 has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue working to restore the Earth. If you’re interested in rolling up your sleeves and finding a way to continue the restoration in your own backyard, we have a few ideas for you.
Plant Butterfly Weed
Pollinators are extremely important to the health of the planet, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to make sure pollinators can find sustenance. Butterfly weed is a plant with brightly-colored blossoms and high nectar content. It attracts a wide range of pollinators, including bees, moths, hummingbirds and, of course, butterflies. Adding a few butterfly weed plants to your garden will not only provide color, but also hours of entertainment watching pollinators come to feast.
Set up a rain barrel
Conserving water is an important part of caring for the planet. A rain barrel collects the rainwater that runs off of your roof. Once it is in the barrel, you can use the water to hydrate the plants in your garden. It’s an easy way to make sure your garden gets the water it needs while reducing your overall water consumption.
Start a rain garden
Another way to manage stormwater runoff is to plant a rain garden. Runoff can cause soil erosion and wash pollutants into lakes and rivers. A rain garden is planted in a low-lying area where it can collect and absorb the water that runs off of paved surfaces. The rain garden will help prevent pollutants from entering the ground water, prevent soil erosion and attract birds and butterflies.
Join a cleanup effort
Unfortunately, litter is still a significant problem. A 2009 study found that 51 billion bits of litter end up on our roadways every year.* Earthday.org has a handy webpage that makes finding a cleanup event in your area a cinch: https://cleanup.earthday.org/pages/find-a-cleanup
Plant a tree
Every new tree that takes root in the earth takes more carbon dioxide out of the air. Plus, when you plant a tree, you can watch it grow and transform from a sapling to a strong provider of shade.
*https://hampton.gov/958/Keep-America-Beautiful-Litter-Research
Back to Peet Bros. Blog