MAY CAUSE OF THE MONTH: Celebrating Mother's Day by honoring Mother Earth

[Cami Walker -- 29Gifts Founder]

As I thought about ideas for the May cause of the month, I realized that Mother's Day is May 10th, and decided I wanted to incorporate that into the cause in a creative way. For the month of May 29Gifts will be encouraging members to give back to Mother Earth.

There are many ways you could do this.


Plant a tree, flower or bush -- Garden centers and nurseries are full of plants in need of a home, and it's the perfect season for planting. Whether you choose a tree, an ornamental bush, or new flowers for your yard, you'll be giving the gift of life and celebrating Mother Earth.


Support a 'green' business -- Many businesses that have a philosophy that exemplifies a commitment to being kind to the environment. Many companies have decided only use sustainable, organic or otherwise eco-friendly materials, or have programs that set aside a percentage of their sales to be donated towards ecologically conscious causes. Some even do both like Tees For Change which sells T-shirts with affirmation style phrases, made of an organic sustainable cotton/bamboo blend, and has partnered with Trees for Tomorrow to plant a tree every time someone purchases a tshirt.

Donate -- You could also make it as simple as donating to an organization that with strong ecological principles and goals such as arborday.org or TreesForTheFuture.org. Organizations like these can make a huge difference even with a small donation due to their size and resources.

Whichever way you choose to give back to Mother Earth, I hope you'll share your stories, pictures and ideas here on this thread.

Happy Giving this month!
Cami

[Stacey S.]

this falls right into my round 9 of giving, I am focusing my gives more on the Earth and how i can give back, make a difference and a change! great idea Cami!

[molly]

Another way to give back to Mother Earth and to your community (and yourself) at the same time is to become a Master Gardener. For those of you who don't know, this is an educational outreach program of the land grant colleges...there's one in every state...and the county extension agents. After training you give back to your community in various ways. For example...this year we have put up a table in a local library and passed out 'planning your spring garden' tips. We had a huge amount of ice and wind damage this last winter so a list of replacement trees and shrubs as well as some tips for what not to do were also available. Our local group also has a Horticultural Hotline where you can call the county extension office and we'll answer gardening questions..everything from things to do in the garden with children to 'what's eating my flowers'. I am responsible for a garden in front of a handicapped apartment building, and have gotten the weed-infested patch of ground to something that approaches reasonable. We have other programs as well, and there's something for every gardening taste. A long-term committment, to be sure, but a very worthwhile one. California, I know, has some great MG programs, as does Montana and Washington state as well.

[Mary Johnson]

I support an awesome green company that, in turn, stops unwanted mail and plants trees! It really works.

Mailstopper.Tonic (formerly GreenDimes) costs $20 /year and has made my family and my mailman very happy! I give the service as birthday and holiday gifts, as well, which have been greatly appreciated.

http://mailstopper.tonic.com/

Stamp out junk mail. Stops up to 90% of your junk mail in 90 days.

Un-Clutter your Life. Catalogs. Credit card offers. Grocery store circulars. Not only does junk mail pile up - it also can lead to identity theft. You'll save time, reduce waste, and protect your privacy.

Think green. Plant trees. When you join MailStopper, they plant 5 trees on your behalf.

[Sharon D-29 Gifts Ambassador]

My grandson and I planted over a hundred plants from seeds. They are beginning to come up, and we are both excited about the little green sprouts emerging! Most will be purple flowers,we planted 4 packsof seeds and several balls of wildflower mix, the final addition was multi colored coleus plants, so we will have fun, hopefully transplanting them into the yard, pots and planters to give away!
-s