In honor of Earth Day, let’s take a moment and appreciate West Michigan’s natural beauty because it surrounds us daily. Whether we choose to enjoy the landscapes, the beaches, or the wildlife of West Michigan we are grateful to have this day to celebrate the nature of our home! To celebrate, we’ve put together a list of ways to appreciate the natural beauty and showcase the eco-friendliness of West Michigan.
Ways you can appreciate the Earth and West Michigan’s natural beauty:
- Muskegon has over 100 miles of bike trails for you to explore! Biking through West Michigan will save the emissions of your car and will help the environment, all while enjoying the great outdoors.
- Visit Grand Haven, walk the pier, and enjoy the beautiful sunset on the water.
- Visit Fredrick Meijer Gardens to take in the art of nature and the indoor and outdoor gardens. Celebrate Earth Day with them at their Earth Day-Every Day
- Visit the Holland Farmers Market , Muskegon Farmers Market, or the Fulton St. Farmers Market and prepare to plant your favorite vegetable, fruit, or flower.
Ways you can impact the environment:
- As you decide on landscaping and plan out your flower beds, consider planting native plants. There are a few organizations around that provide resources, educational workshops, and native plant sales. Planting native plants is beneficial because they require less water, fertilizers, pesticides and require less maintenance and care. Native plants also provide care for insects, birds, and wildlife and adapt to Michigan climates.
- Plant a tree, adopt a park, donate, or volunteer with Friends of Grand Rapids Parks. Help the expansion of the urban tree canopy in the City of Grand Rapids. Planting a tree will help the environment by removing air pollutants, reduce and restore Co2, intercept stormwater, and conserve energy,
- Keep your food waste out of landfills by joining Organicycle. Your waste will be deposited into compost that consists of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon. Another way you can keep your waste out of landfills is by joining Wormies compost service. Wormies feeds food, farm, and yard waste to worms to produce castings—a high-quality, natural fertilizer and soil amendment. Wormies vermicompost is ideal as a fertilizer or a soil amendment for organic gardening and food production.
- Visit your local farmer’s market to support local agriculture. By purchasing locally grown produce, you are helping cut back on packaging and emissions used to transport goods to grocery stores. Food travels 1,500 miles to get to your plate, which means high chemical fuels that are polluting the environment are involved. Many box farms use pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and processing equipment that contribute to preventing decay. When buying locally, the food travels short distances, and the growing process has less of an impact on the environment. Learn more about the benefits of purchasing from farmer’s market.
How West Michigan is contributing to being eco-friendly:
- The Amway, The JW Marriot, The Mitten Brewing Company, and more companies in Grand Rapids are making an effort to be eco-friendly by replacing their disposable materials such as napkins, straws, and trash bags with eco-friendly industrial compostable alternatives.
- Saugatuck Antique Pavilion is reducing, reusing, recycling, and updating its lighting system to LED lighting to cut down on energy use.
Read about other businesses in West Michigan that are going green
There are plenty of ways you can recognize and celebrate the Earth on Earth Day in West Michigan!
