Community

Seven ways to celebrate Earth Day at home

Jeff Yates
Apr 21, 2021

Tomorrow (Thursday) is Earth Day, and it marks the second year in a row where millions of Americans are practicing safe, social distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help our community weather what are hopefully the waning days of the outbreak.

Traditionally a time when TU members and supporters are at their most active, volunteering at stream cleanups, tree plantings, family friendly environmental festivals and more with local chapters across the country, this year many of those events have been put aside.

Share your #EarthDayAtHome photos and social media posts by tagging @TroutUnlimited. We’d love to see how you’re celebrating this year.

At the same time, it is more important than ever for us to feel connected as a conservation community, to feel like we are part of something bigger than ourselves and that we can make a difference. As a TU member and supporter, you can still take action on Earth Day and make a difference for cold, clean rivers and streams.

Here are seven great ways to celebrate #EarthDayAtHome with your family, whether you take action this week, or anytime this spring. Full details and resources can be found at www.tu.org/earthday.

  1. Fundraise on Facebook for #EarthDay2021. It’s fast, easy and an effective way to spread the word among your family, colleagues and friends who care about conservation and fishing that TU is making a difference for cold, clean rivers and streams on Earth Day and every day in between.
  2. Take a TU family field trip with your kids. Whether you head out for a streamside scavenger hunt, plant a native tree, scour the river bottom for macroinvertebrates or pick up trash along a neighborhood creek, getting your kids out and engaged in conservation is a powerful way to build a lifelong passion for conservation.
  3. Shout for trout and salmon at StandUp.TU.org. Learn about our ongoing advocacy efforts on the Snake River dams, for public lands or the latest on Bristol Bay and use the easy and effective online advocacy tools we have to contact your representatives and ask them to support America’s clean water future in their votes and actions.
  4. Become a community scientist with our easy-to-use apps. From the new RIVERS tool for assessing stream health, to water quality and temperature monitoring activities and more, we have a range of smartphone tools and other resources to help you monitor and care for your local streams
  5. Make a personal pledge for the planet on social media. Post a photo of yourself fishing on your favorite river, planting a tree, picking up trash or hiking a trail near your home and share your personal pledge to take a conservation action this year. Whether you pledge to pick up 10 pounds of trash from an area river, plant a tree with your kids this fall, or volunteer for your local TU chapter, your pledge is a powerful statement of our shared hope for the future. Use #EarthDayAtHome, #TroutUnlimited, #TUVolunteer and be sure to mention @troutunlimited in your post on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
  6. Create an Earth Day art project for your kids. Help the next generation of conservationists inspire us all with their vision for the future of our planet. Whether your kids draw a healthy stream, sculpt a trout out of clay, build a Lego scene or use another medium, their art will remind us who we are working for in creating a healthier world. Use #EarthDayAtHome, #TroutUnlimited, #TUVolunteer and be sure to mention @troutunlimited and share your kids’ artwork on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
  7. Install a rain barrel at your home. Up for a bit more of a hands-on effort? It may not seem like much, but a 55-gallon rain barrel can help conserve more than 1,000 gallons of water per year. What’s more, they reduce stormwater runoff from your roof and property which can increase the temperature of nearby streams and wetlands as well as carry pollutants like pesticide, fertilizer, road sand, salt and other chemicals. Installing a rain barrel is an easy, fun way to protect water quality. You and your family can also paint your rain barrel with a river scene. Post pictures of your newly installed rain barrel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using @troutunlimited and #EarthDayAtHome #TroutUnlimited #RainBarrel
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By Jeff Yates. A Trout Unlimited member since age 11, Jeff is a passionate conservationist and avid angler who sees opportunities to care for and recover our rivers and streams at every turn. As the Director of Volunteer Operations, Jeff and his team support, train and lead the more than 420 local chapters and state councils of TU across the country and are priveleged to work with the more than 4,000 volunteers who lead them as board and committee members. An author, fly fishing guide and avid outdoors person, Jeff lives in Connecticut with his wife Kit, and step-daughters Katie and Kat as well as their three rescue dogs, Tahoe, Sparrow and Jack. When he's not at his desk - or out in the field working with volunteers - Jeff splits his time boulder hopping along small native Brook Trout streams and hiking rocky terrain.