17 Ways to Honor Earth Day in Morris Township, Morris Plains

April 22 marks the celebration of Earth Day, which was founded in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Nelson was inspired in part by the anti-Vietnam war protests and wanted to inspire a similar level of activism against environmental destruction. Since then, Earth Day has become a global event that has raised awareness of many environmental issues including deforestation and global warming.

Much has changed for good in the many years since Earth Day was born. Teach your kids not just to love nature, but to protect it every day by taking a few extra steps to “live green."  In honor of Earth Day, here is a list of 17 things you and your family can do that will help you help the environment and often save money in the process. 

1. Have your kids make their friends’ birthday cards and bring gift in decorated paper bags or a cool reusable bag. Kids love getting a handmade card — as do adults.
2. Bring your own bags when you go grocery shopping. 
3. Shop at consignment stores like Morris Plains' Taylors Consignment Shop or hop over to Morristown and go to Nearly New Consignment Shop and Sugar & Spice & Everything Twice or thrift stores such as Bargain Box Thrift Shop and Market Street Mission Thrift Store.
4. Rip out some lawn and create a garden bed where you can grow your own food this summer. Need help getting started? Contact Morris Plains' Roberts Garden or Conroy's Florist & Garden Center. In Morristown, there's Country Mile Gardens, Agway and Holiday Nursery. Your kids will also eat more veggies if they grew them themselves.
5. Dispose of your hazardous waste properly. A variety of tips for what is hazardous and where to dispose of it properly in Morris County can be found here.
6. Join the Morristown Freecycle group to receive and donate specific items that would otherwise be thrown away. 
7. Ditch those dreaded sandwich bags and get some washable containers or bags. 
8. Cut down on car trips and run your errands on your bike or on foot. Now's the perfect time to get back on two wheels since the Morristown Planning board recently approved the town's bike plan and Bike and Walk Morristown just won a bike corral for the town.
9. Donate your gently used books and magazines to the Friends of the Library group at the Morristown & Morris Township Library.  The group will resell your donations and the sales will support programs including story times for kids.
10. Look for an environmental service project you can do with your children, such as the upcoming Morristown town wide clean up and the benefit paper shredding event in Morris Plains
11. Dump your bottled-water costs. Buy snazzy metal water bottles for everyone in the family and a personal filter for your kitchen faucet, and you could save hundreds of dollars. 
12. Organize a Halloween costume swap in September. This can be a great service project for a Girl Scout troop. Reserve a room at the library and publicize to local parenting groups.
13. Replace your old light bulbs with LED bulbs. They last 15 times longer and use 75 percent less energy. Find stores with bulbs here. 
14. Expand your hand-me-down circle. Organize a clothing swap for your co-op preschool or a group of friends. Everyone brings gently used and clean kids’ clothes to your garage; parents take as many items as they donated. The rest goes to charity.  You can also swap toys and books.
15. Replace your showerheads with low-flow models. Low-flow showerheads can save you up to 15 percent of water-heating costs and reduce your water usage by as much as 20,000 gallons a year.
16. Save up to 30 percent on your monthly heating bills by having a home energy audit done by a professional. New Jersey's Clean Energy Program offers a list of pre-screened energy auditors and other information on how to save money by going green.
17. The Community Supported Garden at Genesis Farm will be hosting a free Earth Day and Farm Celebration on Saturday, April 27 from 10 am to 4 pm in Blairstown. (The rain date is the following day, Sunday, April 28). Approximately 300 members join the farm every year to receive a share of the harvest. This year, there are satellite locations for members living near Morristown, Montclair, Maplewood/South Orange, Caldwell/Verona, Glen Rock, Mendham, Cresskill/Teaneck, Parsippany, Madison, Scotch Plains, Basking Ridge, High Bridge/Clinton. Membership is open to all. Additional information about the farm is found on their website, CSGatGenesisFarm.com or by calling 908-362-7486.