We’ve talked about hobbies and how they relieve stress. But did you know there are also a lot of sustainable hobbies you can check out where you can also help reduce the impact of climate change and carbon emissions? Here’s a rundown of the top sustainable and eco-friendly hobbies to try out!
Gardening and Farming
Gardening and farming have got to arguably be one of the most sustainable hobbies to pursue. Not only can these be a hobby, you can actually pursue this as a whole sustainable way of living. If you grow crops and vegetables, you can effectively feed yourself and your family, and if you have some surplus, you can give or sell them for a profit!
Aside from this, instead of using synthetic chemicals to grow your plants and crops, composting and making your own organic fertilizer is a great sustainable alternative!
Collecting Recyclables
A lot of recyclable stuff ends up in the trash, dumpsters, even on sidewalk garbage piles. If you’re up for it, you can go around your neighborhood or town and collect all these recyclable treasures that you can turn over to a recycling center or look for ways to recycle them in your home.
Upcycling
Aside from recycling, you can also get into upcycling, which is in essence a form of recycling. Upcycling involves turning materials that would be considered as trash or otherwise useless into something that can be useful. Think turning water bottles or jugs as pots for smaller plants, turning worn out or torn clothes into useful rugs or pillowcases, and so much more. Think out of the box and get creative in upcycling items!
Starting or Joining Organizations or Charities
If an organization or charity is already established in your locale that’s dedicated to sustainability and has a strong advocacy in preserving the environment, you can go ahead and join them and get involved in their activities. If not, you can start one and gather like-minded individuals who have a strong commitment in engaging in environmental sustainability. This would be a great way to form a sense of community and forward your advocacies with other people.
Clean-up Drives
You can set-up a clean-up drive with your organization or you can do it yourself! This could be as simple as cleaning up someone’s backyard, tidying up a public space, or even going to clean up your nearest waterways or beaches.
Planting Drives
Aside from clean-up drives, you can also organize or go for a planting drive. You can go ahead and plant crops and plants on an empty lot or even go mangrove planting on a nearby shore area. Just make sure that you’re planting non-invasive species of plants in the area.
Beekeeping
If you’re not already up to speed, but we’re going through a worldwide bee crisis. A great way to curb this is by taking up beekeeping as a hobby! As long as you have the right tools and the right knowledge, you can actually keep a hive thriving in your own backyard. If you do manage to keep them thriving, you might just also have a sustainable supply of organic, all-natural honey!
Repairing and DIY
Now instead of buying new furniture or appliances in your home, try learning a thing or two in home repairs and DIYing stuff at home! You’d be surprised how much you’ll find yourself tinkering around and breathing in new life in the stuff in your own home that you would otherwise have thrown away. This is a great sustainable hobby to get into since you’d also be saving a lot of money repairing your own stuff rather than buying new pieces for your home.
Cycling
Personal cars and public commute arguably leaves a very huge carbon footprint. A great way to curb this is by hopping on your bicycle and cycling your way through the city. Not only is this a great form of physical exercise, it’s a great alternative for individual travel and commute.
Aquaculture
Aquaculture or aquafarming is a great sustainable hobby to get into especially if you live near a body of water or have enough space to create a tank or manmade pond for culturing aquatic animals and plants. Like on-land gardening and farming, aquaculture involves cultivating fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other aquatic species for consumption, or well, just providing a safe environment for them to thrive. You can get into breeding, rearing, fish stocking to create some sort of hatchery for different kinds of fish or other aquatic creatures. There’s so much to explore with aquaculture and it’s definitely a great sustainable hobby to get into!
Final Thought
These are just some of the most popular sustainable and eco-friendly hobbies that people explore. You can definitely look into other sustainable hobbies that can help in curbing a lot of the environmental problems we’re facing today. Remember, this is the only planet we can call home and it’d be great if we can do our part in making sure that we can get to live here sustainably, even if it means to pick up sustainable activities as hobbies in our free time.
As a dedicated mother and passionate software developer, she weaves her diverse experiences into captivating stories that inspire and engage readers. Emma's love for sustainable living and environmental consciousness permeates both her personal and professional life. When she's not immersed in the world of coding and software development, Emma can be found nurturing her family and tending to her thriving organic garden. Her commitment to sustainable practices extends to every aspect of her life, from repurposing household items to embracing eco-friendly technologies.
