Challenge yourself this Earth Day season. Develop a few new habits for the health of our planet!

1. Join ‘No Mow May’ (or reduce your mowing). Leave the “weeds” for the pollinators: bees, ants, birds, etc.

2. For the planet’s sake, grab a rake. Resist the leaf blower (creates dangerous level of noise and air pollution).

3. Try Meatless Mondays: cows don’t eat meat, look how robust they are. Meat contributes greatly to climate change.

4. Electrify! Get off fossil fuel: your car ($10k rebates), your home (induction stove, heat/air system (rebates).

 5. Ditch the car: Enjoy our free PVTA bus, carpool, walk, call a ride, or bike (Cars: please give bikes 4 feet when passing).

6. Join the Amherst townwide cleanup Saturday, April 27 or organize one in your neighborhood.

7. Challenge yourself for a week: Don’t buy any plastic stuff (only 5% is actually recycled).

8. Buy in bulk: laundry/dish soap, shampoo, grains, beans, peanut butter, etc. (eliminate lots of packaging).

9. Instead of buying new items, borrow from a friend. Share with neighbors, repair instead of tossing in the landfill.

10. Fire your dryer: Hang your clothes (they last longer and smell fresh and it saves lots of energy).

11. Eliminate single-use items. Create a reusables kit to carry with you: (takeout food container, utensils, coffee cup)’

12. Write/call your legislators often to support environmental issues

13. Donate monthly or make a one-time donation to environmental groups.

14. Connect with your natural world: Learn five new birds and trees in your yard.

15. Re-use the many plastic bags you already have (bread, frozen fruit, cereal box liners, chips)

16. Reduce/eliminate lawn mowing (convert to native/pollinating no-mow ground cover, flowers/vegetable gardens).

Brenda Davies lives in Amherst.