Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is coming. Have you marked your calendar?

Mother’s Day is one of those truly appreciative days of the year. It’s so important to recognize our mothers and all that they’ve provided for us. It seems to me that observing an eco mother’s day is actually very synchronous with the spirit of motherhood.

It’s no accident that Mother’s Day is celebrated in the spring. Mother Nature, Mother Earth, and Earth-Mother are all names used to personify nature. It has to do the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature embodied in the form of the mother. Really, that’s a very beautiful visualization and I think that spirit can be carried into how you choose to celebrate your day.

Think of it as all one theme: Mother + Nature all together for an eco celebration. On Mother’s Day, many people hold a brunch, lunch, or dinner at home or go out to eat. In fact, Mother’s Day is one of the most popular restaurant days of the year. But did you know that over 43,000 tons of food are thrown out in the United States every sing day? And each year Americans toss out enough paper and plastic cups, forks, and spoons to circle the equator 300 times. There is a huge amount of waste and negative environmental impact related to food.

However, we can each do our part to reduce that and a celebration like Mother’s Day is a great time to explore your creativity to throw a fun, festive meal with a minimum impact on the environment.

Food
Choose local ingredients for your meal and organic whenever possible. Think local, organic eggs and cheese from your local farmer’s market rather than imported foods. Also choose sustainable options, and for meat make it grass-fed. As you explore more green options, think about limiting or eliminating the meat altogether as vegetarian options have less of a negative impact on the environment.

Drinks
If you’re serving cocktails, rather than stocking an entire bar, create a signature drink for your event which will limit the amount of wasted ingredients. Take advantage of local, seasonal ingredients. For wine and beer, think local and organic to reduce your global footprint when you enjoy a beverage. For non-alcoholic beverages, choose aluminum over plastic containers. Aluminum is an easily recyclable material; cans of soda are a better choice than drinks in plastic bottles. You can also choose organic coffee, shade-grown when possible, offer organic herbal teas. Reuse old wine or beverage bottles and serve tap water, filtered if necessary.

Decorations
This is a great time for creativity. Consider arrangements that blend local plants with fruits and vegetables that you can eat tomorrow or later in the week for something eye catching, unique, and environmentally friendly. Rather than buying a lot o flowers, if you’re creative you can take one bunch of flowers and mix it with other organic items to spread enough cheerful decoration all around your house. Roses and asparagus? Tulips and kale? Be creative!

For vases, use drink pitchers or other interesting and unconventional containers that you already have around the house.

To create an interesting arrangement, use a florist foam (available from the flower section of your supermarket) and soak it with water. Place it at the bottom of a small bowl or vase. Push freshly cut flowers through. Use some chopsticks to push through fruits or vegetables and push them in to place to fill out the arrangement. Pick local, organic flowers from your farmer’s market or an environmentally conscious flower shop.

 

Jennie LyonAbout Jennie Lyon

Jennie Lyon is a green lifestyle writer and the owner of Sweet Greens, the award-winning green lifestyle blog. She posts on simple, fun ways families can go green together – starting with her own. When she isn’t blogging, you will find her paddleboarding, sailing, beach-combing, camping, or spending time with her amazing husband and 13-year old son.

 

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