Earth Day 2022 - Invest in our Planet
April 22nd is Earth Day – The theme of Earth Day 2022 is Invest in our Planet
Time is running short to solve the climate crisis, time to choose BOTH a prosperous and sustainable future, and time to restore nature and build a
healthy planet for our children and their children.As individuals, we have the simple yet effective power to make our voices heard through our choices, our actions, and our personal interactions. What each of us does, and how we do it, has a huge ripple effect on our ecosystems, and on the pace of corporate and government action.
One action from every household in Churt would add up to make a significant difference for our planet.
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Pledge one new action to invest in our planet as part of Churt’s Earth Day 2022 initiative.
Please tell us what your pledged action is so that we can list and map Churt’s response to Earth Day 2022. Just email Churt Environment Working Group at churtenvironment@gmail.com saying what your pledge is and your postcode too and attaching any photos of your pledge that we can publish on the website.
Here are a few ideas with supporting information and resources – but if they aren’t the right ones for you, then just choose something else that is. You will also find ideas on 52 ways to invest in our planet on the Earth Day webpage and on the
Take the Jump website.
Change a gardening habit – garden sustainably
Creating and maintaining the sort of beautiful gardens that we see around Churt can unknowingly, to the gardener, damage our natural environment, exacerbate the climate crisis and even endanger our health.
Check out the Sustainable Gardening pages for details on four great ideas for your Earth Day Action Pledge:
Plant a tree, a wood or a hedgerow
Planting trees is a great way to enhance your garden whilst playing a vital role in protecting the environment. Six native trees will absorb and store about a tonne of carbon dioxide over their lifetimes. Planting trees also helps to guard against soil erosion, reduces the effects of flooding, and absorbs air pollution.
Remember that planting is just the beginning – the tree will need initial protection and probably some early watering to develop to maturity.
Why not plant a tree for the Jubilee?
Surrey Wildlife Trust has a great guide to planting a tree including a helpful list of native trees. Native trees are best for helping native insects and animals to thrive. Ideally, a native tree that has been grown from local stock will be best adapted to local conditions
If you are able to plant a number of trees or a length of hedgerow, there is more information, including about grants, on the Trees and Hedgerows page on this website. The Woodland Trust has details on large scale plantings and some free packs for eligible projects. They also have a shop for smaller scale plantings and gardens.
Make space for wildflowers
It doesn’t matter what size your space is, there’s always room for wildflowers! Whether it's a flowerpot, flowerbed, wild patch in your lawn, a verge, field margin or entire meadow, planting wildflowers provides vital resources to support a wide range of insects and other wildlife that couldn't survive otherwise. Long grass, peppered with flowers, is a biodiverse and beneficial habitat. The different plant species help insects to thrive, create feeding opportunities for birds, and shelter small mammals.
You can find lots of information about the various options on our space for wildflowers page.
Cut out single use plastic
Use reusable water bottles, reuse plastic bags and boxes, wash and reuse freezer bags, take your own bags for supermarket veggies sold loose, recycle any soft plastics you get in the supermarket back to the supermarket etc
Invest in a low carbon heating system
If we are to achieve Net Zero in the UK, the most significant contribution to reduction of CO2 emissions from each household has to come from home heating. Opting for low carbon heating options instead of systems like oil or gas-fuelled boilers is the way to achieve the emission reduction needed.
Check out our page on low carbon heating systems
Please tell us what your pledged action is so that we can list and map Churt’s response to Earth Day 2022. Just email Churt Environment Working Group at churtenvironment@gmail.com saying what your pledge is plus postcode and attach any photos that we can publish.