Why Earth Day Is a Great Time to Make a Nature Connection That Will Last All Year Long

Earth Day–my favorite holiday, of course–is an annual event to show support for environmental protection and to highlight how nature can benefit our health and well-being. On this day, participants all around the globe come together in their campaigns for plastic waste elimination, sustainable fashion, climate change, and other green initiatives to help make a difference and protect our precious planet.

You can celebrate Earth Day in numerous ways—by attending events in person and online, organizing your own events, participating in environmental volunteer projects, or simply spending time outside as a family. In fact, a family trip or a picnic might be a fantastic idea. But shouldn’t you do more than that for the environment? How exactly would nature benefit from you spending a fun day outside with your family? Well, let’s find out.

Brings You Closer to What You Want to Protect

To understand why we want to protect nature, we need to fully absorb it on an emotional level. That means actually going outside and experiencing nature in all its glory. We feel much more passionate about preventing deforestation, for example, if we frequently take walks in forests. When we admire oceans, seas, and lakes, we want to make sure they stay clean and pristine without plastic waste floating in them. And as we breathe in the fresh mountain air, we begin to understand how important it is to minimize air pollution for both our physical and mental health.

More importantly, though, exposing your kids to nature and its beauties from an early age may instill in them awe and appreciation for our planet. At first, that appreciation wouldn’t be entirely conscious, but that changes over time. Eventually, they will likely grow up feeling passionate about environmental protection and have a genuine love for nature.

Helps You Feel Happier and Calmer

As we talk about all the time here, spending time outside in nature can drastically improve your mood and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. The sunshine, greenery, and fresh air can do wonders for your mental health, giving you a much-needed boost of energy. What’s more, doing fun activities in nature will help you feel closer to your family and community. For that reason alone, you will want to look for opportunities to spend as much time outside as possible. And Earth Day provides the perfect chance, so don’t miss it!

Provides Fun for the Entire Family

There are tons of fun and relaxing Earth Day activities for kids that you can also enjoy year-round. You could build birdhouses, spend time in a garden, go for a hike or bike ride, visit a park or nature center, or organize an Earth Day-inspired scavenger hunt. If organizing a scavenger hunt feels like too much work, you can try a simpler activity. Take your children for a walk and let them take pictures of animal tracks and whatever else catches their interest. Allow them to explore as much as they want, but make sure you’re around to guide them and keep them safe. Or set up some art supplies outside and encourage your kids to draw or paint the nature all around. The options are endless.

If you can’t find an event or activity in your local area, take things into your own hands and organize an Earth Day celebration for your family. It could be a small one just for you and your kids, or you could invite relatives, neighbors, and other people willing to participate in the special day. As for the kind of event you can organize, that’s entirely up to you. But we suggest doing something beneficial for the environment—for instance, collect and recycle the garbage in a public park or do a beach cleanup if you live near the ocean. At the end of the day, remind your kids to not leave any trash lying around. Ask them to help you collect the garbage and carry it to a nearby recycling bin. If you do that frequently enough, your children will surely remember that it’s important.

Earth Day is the perfect opportunity to celebrate our beautiful planet and remember that it’s the only one we have, and it needs our help. How you choose to do that is up to you. Even just enjoying the lovely weather outside with your family is enough, and it may have a lasting impact on your kids.

And remember, although we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd, I invite you to support environmental protection and connect to nature every single day. If you are looking for more ideas on how to build a nature habit, check out my book, Finding Ecohappiness: Fun Nature Activities to Help Your Kids Feel Happier and Calmer.