Love your Mother Earth! Wheatsfield Co-op members know that April is Earth Month. This year, we can also celebrate Earth’s relationship with the Sun by witnessing a Total Solar Eclipse. What a great event to marvel at the wonders of our world and the intricate dance of light and dark, warmth and cold that make this globe a nurturing home to living things.

We are fortunate that modern astronomy can tell us when and where the eclipse will happen and assure us the sun will shine again. Also fortunate is that modern climate science can tell us it is not too late to stop contributing to human-caused global climate change. Earth Month can remind us that we can move from shadow to light and take action to love our Mother. Our co-op gives us many ways to care for our home planet, either through personal sustainable practices to reduce our consumption or through engagement in earth-loving community events.

One high-impact area for reducing our carbon footprint is our food choices. A recent New York Times article cites a large study showing that reducing meat eating by half can reduce environmental impacts by upwards of 30%. Wheatsfield can help us consider options to eat meat-free more often. I have found that with a quick trip down Wheatsfield’s aisles, I can create satisfying, colorful meals from fresh vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Not only that, when we shop at the Co-op, we support local farmers and sustainable farming practices, and can make sustainable animal product choices, all while making healthy, varied, mostly plant-based choices that are better for us and for our Mother.

You can also express your Mother Earth love at many Co-op Earth Month Events – from DIY classes like bike repair, and worm composting, to the Incredible Bulk Sale (great for reducing packaging waste), to the free Plant a Seed event, to a Stash the Trash event in the Co-op neighborhood in conjunction with the City of Ames Event.

Whatever way you express your care for our home planet in April, I want to thank you for your ongoing membership to Wheatsfield Co-op. It is a clear, positive way you love our Mother every day. Thank you!