On this day we encourage you to be good to the earth and yourself.

Earth Day looks a little different this year. While we are all in lockdown – trying to work out what this pandemic means for us as communities, families and humans – planet earth is receiving an unintended pollution break, giving the climate a brief chance to stabilise. We can also use this as an opportunity to make new connections with nature, each other and change our habits in the long term. How about some of these suggestions:

1) Save energy:
Switch off your lights for an hour this evening and use candles instead. Have a candle lit dinner with your loved ones, do yoga or meditate by candlelight or go look at the stars from your garden!

2) Stay in touch with earth and nature:
Do some gardening this weekend, watch David Attenborough or Honeyland on Netflix or see how indigenous practices have helped protect our planet.

3) Volunteer to help others:
Sign up to Helpful Engineering UK’s campaign to provide PPE for the NHS: click here to donate and here to get involved (e.g. delivering PPE via bikes).

With the world in lockdown, we have shifted our daily lives overnight – we are no longer flying or travelling to work, and even manufacturing has dipped. Planet earth is feeling the light relief and the ozone images from NASA highlight this (pictured above) – the contrast is stark.

Lastly, see how we are slowing down to celebrate the nature around us during lockdown here.

So, happy Earth Day! Let's look after each other and our planet.