Earth Day is a time for us to reflect on how important it is to honor and respect our planet. Although we hope you carry the spirit of Earth Day with you throughout the year, April 22 gives us a chance to contemplate how our choices impact the environment and how we can band together to make a difference.
On April 22, 1970, the United States of America celebrated its first Earth Day, the birth of the modern environmental movement. One year later, the Pennsylvania Legislature solidified the movement and ratified the Environmental Rights Amendment, guaranteeing clean air, pure water, and the preservation of natural and scenic values for its citizens.
While we certainly hope that you celebrate Earth Day by enjoy nature and perhaps participating in a local cleanup or beautification project, many people forget that their everyday choices can be just as impactful on the environment.
Does it matter where the stuff you buy comes from? We think so. And that’s why we developed the PA Wilds Marketplace.
Proudly made in the PA Wilds, our products celebrate the beauty, bounty and rural traditions of our region. Although buying these products can be a real game-changer for the rural economy, it also benefits our environment!
When you buy something at ShopThePAWilds.com, you're reducing in your carbon footprint. The products likely won’t have to be shipped as far as if you bought them from a big-box store or an online retailer like Amazon.
Plus, when you choose a product that was sourced locally in the PA Wilds, you’re reducing your environmental impact even further by making sure that those products don’t have to be shipped from literally the other side of the planet.
Many of the products you see on the PA Wilds Marketplace are sourced with local ingredients and materials. For example, the PA Wilds Outdoor Discovery Atlas was printed on paper from our region. The maple products on ShopThePAWilds.com, such as Sugar Mama's Appalachian Maple and Patterson Farms, come from maple trees that are tapped in our region. Some sellers, such as Sue's Salves and Blackberry & Sage Market, use herbs that are grown in their own gardens. Rich Valley Apiary uses beeswax that is made by bees in Cameron County.
Because these raw materials do not have to be shipped to the makers, they have less of a negative impact to the environment.
Other sellers chose to make their products more environmentally friendly by choosing eco-smart ways of packaging their products, such as Nonni & Papa Joe's Homestead, which uses Biolefin, a biodegradable shrink-film to protect their soaps instead of regular plastic.
Some sellers are environmentally friendly because of the unique ways their products remove watse from the local enivronment! A great example is Jabebo earrings that are made from recycled cereal boxes that they gather from PA Wilds residents.
Other products, such as the prints from Ellen Paquette Art, bring awareness to environmental problems. Each of Ellen's paintings feature a critically endangered or otherwise threatened animal, showing how our action's can harm our treasured wildlife.
Another wonderful product that raises awareness for the environment and the delicate balance of our ecosystem are the card games made by TSW Games. Edge of Extinction is a fun but educational game that shows players how actions affect the web of life and the importance of our native plants.
And don't forget, you can always add a donation at the end of your shopping experience at ShopThePAWilds.com or at the physical PA Wilds Conservation Shop locations. At checkout, you;'ll be asked if you want to make a small donation that makes a big difference for PA Wilds State Parks and Forests. 100 percent of the proceeds will help the PA Parks and Forests Foundation fund special projects in the state parks and forests in the Pennsylvania Wilds!
Thank you for shopping locally, buying eco-friendly products and taking care of the planet that we love so much.
