25 Effective Ways to Honor and Heal the Planet for Earth Day 2025

The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 to raise awareness for and to support environmental protection. Though it originated in the U.S., the holiday is now observed in almost every country around the globe.

For 2025, we put together twenty-five ideas to inspire you to get active for the planet. Some are quick and easy, while others require planning, invitations, and motivation. Can you do all twenty-five?

1. Go Trash-Fishing

Trash-fishing is a fun way to help your local watershed. The goal of trash-fishing is to remove as much litter as possible from the ecosystem, so bring gloves, nets, grabbers, trash bags (or reuse cardboard boxes), and scissors or wire-cutters for particularly tangled trash.

2. Host A Documentary-Watch Party

There’s no shortage of documentaries about what harms our planet and how we can help. If you’re looking for a more chill topic, choose a film or series that explores the beauty of Mother Nature, like Our Great National Parks or David Attenborough’s “A Life on Our Planet.”

3. Share Snacks at An Earth Day Event

No one is more popular than the person with the snacks! Take advantage of our mouth-watering recipe section to find the perfect appetizer for your documentary watch party or to bring to any Earth Day event you attend. (The stuffed squash blossoms and Thai spring rolls are particularly tasty and shareable.)

4. Stop Eating Meat

The meat industry is the most harmful industry for our planet. Eating meat is twenty-three times worse for the Earth than driving a car. Meat consumption also increases your risk of heart disease and many cancers, directly supports cruelty to animals, and causes the destruction of the planet’s water quality, biodiversity, and the ozone layer.

5. Ditch Dairy

The dairy industry is heartbreakingly cruel and extremely harmful to the environment, but ditching dairy is often the final step people take before going vegan. Maintaining a vegan lifestyle is the best way to help the planet, so Earth Day is the perfect time to make this important change. Do even more for cows by taking action on our dairy rapid action center page:

6. Make Your Own Milk

We know that animal milk is much more harmful to the planet than vegan alternatives, but did you know making your own milk can save you serious money and reduce waste from not buying packaged goods? Check out our practical guide on how to make your own almond, oat, soy, coconut, rice, and even hemp milk to get started.

7. Share This Image on Facebook

It’s hard to imagine that one cup of cow’s milk takes 63 gallons of water to produce, but this image helps to illustrate that unbelievable number. Let your friends know that while dairy products may not be meat, their production is just as bad for the Earth (not to mention cows).

8. Print This Sign

If you own a printer (and it’s still stocked with paper and ink), then there are few things easier than printing this Earth Day sign and placing it in your car window. If not, most public libraries offer a number of free pages of printing per day or charge a nominal fee for the service.

9. Text for Tips

Text VEG to 73822 to get vegan lifestyle tips, recipes, and urgent alerts texted right to your phone. By joining our vegan lifestyle text list, you’ll always be in the know when it comes to cruelty-free, vegan products to buy, delicious food to try, and actions to take that help save lives.

Terms for automated texts/calls from PETA: peta.vg/txt. Text STOP to end, HELP for more info. Msg/data rates may apply. U.S. only.

10. Go Thrifting

Fast fashion is responsible for about 10% of global carbon emissions and is second in line for water use. Be a part of the solution and read our ethical thrifting guide, then take this Earth Day idea further by urging Levi’s to follow its own sustainability commitment by ditching leather:

12. Compost For Nutrient-Rich Soil

You may notice that shifting your diet away from meat and dairy has positive side effects: weight loss, reduced arthritis pain, easier diabetes management, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, increased energy, and an abundance of scraps to compost! If you garden or know someone who does, you know compost is akin to gold—not only will your new composting hobby revive depleted soil, but it will also reduce the amount of waste going to landfills.

13. Buy Vegan Snacks

Even if they are “accidentally vegan,” buying products that do not contain the body parts or secretions of animals shows companies the high demand for vegan options. Check out our list of accidentally vegan foods, and save it to your phone for future shopping trips.

14. Leave Your Lawn Alone

The perfect way to help insect populations is to allow your lawn to grow uncut and unraked through May. Merely doing nothing allows wildflowers and weeds to bloom, providing food and shelter for pollinators. This Earth Day idea eliminates chores for you, beautifies neighborhoods, and provides reliable food sources for songbirds and small mammals.

15. Be Proactive in Protecting Small Animals

One way to help wildlife is to never purchase glue traps. These cruel, sticky boards are completely indiscriminate and grab hold of any small mammal, reptile, bird, insect, animal companion, or even the wandering fingers of toddlers. Read our tips on how to help an animal stuck to a glue trap, then take action on our alerts urging companies to stop selling these vile torture devices:

16. Celebrate #TacoTuesday

Tacos are one of the most versatile and inexpensive dishes to throw together, especially for a large group of people. Check out this list of our favorite vegan tacos, or just grab the basics and let everyone create their own.

17. Watch & Share This Rap

Music is a natural way to celebrate anything, so it’s no surprise that @officialc5 was inspired to write a rap about how going vegan helps your body, animals, and the planet. Listen to his inspiring bars and share the video on social media.

18. Advocate For Wildlife

All animals are beloved by their mates and offspring, but to trophy hunters, they are seen merely as targets to kill, decapitate, and display on a wall. Take action to help larger wildlife by urging UPS to ban the shipment of hunting trophies.

Bears and wolves are important apex predators that control wildlife populations and are more fearful of humans than we should be of them. Speak up for these at-risk species by taking action on our Bear World U.S.A. campaign. Bear World U.S.A. is a cruel roadside zoo that has used fireworks to scare mothers away from their dens long enough to steal their babies.

19. Show Off Your Power

The official theme of Earth Day 2025 is “Our Power, Our Planet,” so show off your compassion by sporting a statement piece: PETA’s “Vegan Power” cap. (Use code EARTHDAY to save 15% on your purchase between April 15 and April 22.)

20. Educate Others

You don’t have to be a teacher, preacher, or parent to teach others how to protect our planet. Host an Earth Day party or ask your local library or church if you can give a lesson on caring for the environment. If you’re already an educator, even better! Use PETA’s lesson plan activities for Earth Day to discuss the problems we face and how we can be the solution.

21. Organize a Demonstration

Protests and demonstrations are valuable, fun ways to spread awareness, motivate others, and meet new people. Whether you lead a demo on the benefits of a vegan diet, the devastation caused by leather, or the importance of protecting wildlife, we are here for you! Email [email protected], and a team member will be happy to help with anything you need.

22. Bake a Vegan Dessert

Whip up a vegan dessert (maybe vegan date balls or chocolate peanut butter brownies) to share with loved ones or advocates at an Earth Day event. Extra credit: bake Pamela Anderson’s Zuzu Apple Nut Dog Treats with just three ingredients and deliver them to your local animal shelter.

23. Make It a Tradition

Why not intentionally make the celebration of Earth Day a tradition? Take photos throughout the day, journal about your activism, save a bit of (clean) trash you picked up, then make a scrapbook page or fill a shadow box. Each year, add tangible memories to keep your activism alive.

24. Join the Movement Online

Photograph and tag your Earth Day actions on social media to inspire others! Use the hashtags #EarthDay2025 and #PETA to join people around the world who are doing the same, and browse the hashtags to see what others are up to.

25. Share This List with Friends and Family

Finally, share this list of ideas with friends and family. Choose the corresponding button below to share via email, Facebook, X, or Threads. You and your circle can even select a few of the activities to do together!

Thank you for your compassion for animals and the planet.