Earth Week Monday

This Earth Week I plan to post an agenda of activities for each day that grounds me in unity with the Earth. 

Agenda today:

1. Wildlife Garden

2. Talk to Mother Nature
3. Take action

4. Tree flag

1. Wildlife Garden: 

Every year for Earth Week I choose a new focus for learning. This year I chose the National Wildlife Federation website, "Garden for Wildlife", dedicated to "educating and empowering people to turn their own small pieces of Earth into thriving habitat for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife".

It's all about re-establishing native plant communities and protecting the local watershed with sustainable gardening practices. I'll read a little everyday, and make a plan for how to improve my yard habitat this spring and summer.

Step one: Select plants that provide year-round diversity.

Wildlife need food, water, cover, and places to raise young with flowers, shrubs, trees, and grasses all year. To understand the benefits of these read Plant for Diversity.

They divide plants into 3 types: Non-woody flowering plants, grasses and ground covers, trees and shrubs. I found a list of plants I want. Unfortunately, their plant shop is geared towards the Eastern states. That led me to a publication called GARDENING WITH OREGON NATIVE PLANTS WEST OF THE CASCADES

2. Talk to Mother Nature:

I've been looking for a simple, short, practice that I can do here at home, that will help me become more aware and in tune with nature... Today I came across this post: How I Use Gardening as Mindfulness Practice, which has some good ideas.

First, she says, "I schedule time. I started doing this a few years ago when I realized that when I was busy with work, I would neglect the garden. So now every day, I schedule 30 minutes in the garden. Some days (normally on the weekends), I stay out for much, much longer, but at least, every day, I have a 30-minute touchstone with Mother Nature. It’s part of my routine – rain, shine, heat, or cold."

That's the rub, for me: I don't go out if it's wet, and it's always wet. 

Another thing I liked from this post is: "I speak to Mother Nature (like, literally). Like a totally normal, balanced person, I have entire conversations with Mother Nature when I’m out in the garden. I tell her how beautiful the sky is today. I tell her how good the sun feels on my skin. I thank her for our beautiful, fertile soil. I tell her the dandelions smell particularly sweet today. I tell her she’s doing a beautiful job growing my tomatoes. And no, I’m not getting all woo-woo spiritual on you here—talking to Mother Nature is just my way of being able to acknowledge all the wonderful, blissful things about being out in the garden. You might speak to God. You might speak to yourself. ... Either way, I think there is real value in speaking your gratitude aloud. It’s also another way of making sure you are aware of your surroundings—after all, you have to see and appreciate something before you can be grateful for it.

So, today, I will go into the garden in the rain, and have a conversation with Mother Nature.

3. Take action:

My Earthcare group started a postcard campaign and handed out 60 postcards yesterday! We are witnessing to legislators about reducing single use plastics. Today I'll cut and prepare more postcards.

4. Tree flag:

I'm going to a rally on Saturday, with a theme of forest protection, and I've invited others to join me later this week to make signs and banners. I'm also going to make a pre-school-sized flag with my grandson! 

Today I'll make a plan and gather the supplies we need, and maybe we will make a start. (My philosophy with preschool arts and crafts: "Be prepared, make a start, repeat often".)