To celebrate the 53^rd anniversary of Earth Day in 2023 (April 22 in case you haven’t marked your calendar), we put together a list of 52 green actions to help you celebrate.

We have included a wide range of ideas – cool stuff, practical stuff, fun stuff – all actions that can make a difference. Some of them can be implemented now, and some could be for later, but all are ways to make every day, Earth Day. We encourage you and your family to give one (or a few!) a try.

1. Wherever you live in Manitoba, register for the Commuter Challenge.
2. Don’t bag your grass. Grasscycle! Keep your lawn healthy and green.
3. Get your bike ready for spring! Tune-up tutorials here.
4. Register with Dig In Manitoba to learn about healthy local food, share information, and grow your own.
5. Join Green Action Centre. Get connected and help encourage greener, better living in Manitoba. If you are already a member, get one more person to join.
6. Make it easier on yourself to travel sustainably! Sign up with GoManitoba.
7. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Get together with others to help make change – green your workplace, help start a community composting program , or check out school travel planning to see how to get kids walking and cycling actively and safely to school.
8. Shop smart. We can’t shop our way to sustainability, but we can make thoughtful choices when we do have to buy things.
9. Sign up to receive our monthly Living Green Living Well newsletter to keep up to date on green activities, tips and events.
10. Check out community supported agriculture in Manitoba – a great way to get fresh local produce over the summer while supporting local farmers.
11. Make a donation to Green Action Centre. Your contribution helps us reach more Manitobans with tips, ideas, information, support, links and learning opportunities for greener living.
12. Freecycle those used but still valuable items.
13. Consider signing on to Peg City Car Coop. It’s about car sharing as an alternative to buying and maintaining your own vehicle.
14. If you live in Winnipeg, take the bus and travel by Rapid Transit. There’s more to come. This is just a taste of what is in store for Winnipeg commuters.
15. It is still one of the basics – recycle! Let’s keep tires, used oil, electronics and household hazardous waste out of the landfill.
16. Support Green Action Centre by purchasing a Living Green necklace designed by Hilary Druxman!
17. Participate in our annual Omand’s Creek Cleanup! You could win prizes and can contribute to cleaning up a park that so many locals enjoy!
18. Take a portable mug with you where you go so you don’t have to use a paper cup, or use ceramic mugs or washable mugs at work so you don’t have to use paper cups.
19. Encourage people to use ceramic dishes and a dishwasher at work instead of using disposable dishes.
20. Attend Fort Whyte Alive’s annual Earth Day event.
21. Follow us on Twitter for practical green living tips and industry-related content.
22. Use digital versions of documents (pdfs) and email them to co-workers instead of copying and handing them the paper version.
23. Say No to junk mail. Green Action Centre has stickers.
24. Sign up the whole family to participate in Bike Week each June and Bike Everywhere Month for kids in May.
25. Travel green with your kids – bus, walk, cycle or share a ride.
26. Make a meat-free meal.
27. Go through your cosmetics and sunscreens and identify toxic ingredients. Switch to non-toxic products that are not tested on animals.
28. Recycle your cell phone.
29. Some electronic equipment uses standby power to maintain functions even when they are theoretically off. Turn off the phantoms by unplugging devices when they are not in use (or a powerbar for several devices), or switching to Energy Star electronics.
30. When you drive, practise fuel efficient driving habits.
31. Contribute to the Restore the Canopy project: Help plant 10 million trees in impoverished areas around the world.
32. Check us out on Pinterest: DIY, upcycling and much more!
33. Get a rain barrel. Rain barrels can store up to 200 litres of quality (though non-potable) water, and can be refilled by as little as a few millimetres of rainfall. We recommend oak barrels from Paul’s Containers.
34. Buy local. Be a locavore!
35. Get outside! Ride a bike, take a walk or just relax and enjoy nature.
36. Watch one of Green Action Centre’s videos: How to Compost or Bike Winnipeg!
37. Use a clothesline to dry clothes. International Clothesline Week is in June. Get started today!
38. Save energy and money at home. Manitoba Hydro’s Power Smart for Homes program can tell you how.
39. Plan your next vacation by train, bus, or carpool and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
40. Make your next meeting at work a green meeting.
41. Start composting today. We have ideas to get you started.
42. Make your own green cleaning products. They’ll save you money, work just as effectively as commercial products, and are better for the environment and for your health!
43. Join us on Facebook.
44. Write a letter to your MLA or MP about an environmental issue that is important to you.
45. Use a double sided copier. Use old photocopies for scratch paper instead of throwing them out.
46. Reduce your use of plastic bags, and reuse and recycle the ones already in your home – or return your plastic bags altogether. Check out this local list.
47. Metal is a valuable resource. Notice your knives and scissors getting dull? Sharpen them to prolong their life!
48. Try a Pantry Challenge! Use up that food collection you have before it goes bad!
49. Work Meal Planning into your weekly routine to reduce food waste!
50. Have fun greening at home with one (or more) of our Prairie Dog Projects! Eco-projects made by repurposing common materials found at home. Great for families and kids!
51. Plant a seed. Whether it’s in your garden, a pot in your house, or out in nature, plants help improve air quality and connect us to the Earth.
52. Learn about greenwashing!
53. Looking for more green living tips? Join us for our Earth Day event at The Children’s Museum on April 22, 2022!

Leave us a comment and share your Earth Day ideas!