By Laurie Casey

Consider these gifts to Planet Earth for each month of 2018.

January - Take your reusable bags to the market (donate extra reusable bags to the Give a Bag / Take a Bag program).

February - Plan your native and/or edible garden.

March - Attend the One Earth Film Festival.

April - Celebrate Earth Month. Celebrate Earth Day on 4/22 by doing a beach clean up or natural area clean up. Plant a tree on Arbor Day 4/27.

May - Plant your native and/or edible garden.

June - If you live in OP/RF, sign up for the village's CompostAbles program. If not, investigate compost pick up programs that will pick up your food scraps and return with valuable compost.

July - Try buying food in bulk to avoid packaging. Sugar Beet Co-op and Whole Foods are great local sources.

August - Let your lawn go dormant this month rather than wasting precious, potable water irrigating it.

September - Make a pledge to refuse straws at restaurants when ordering your drink.

October - Leave your leaves; rake them into beds. It's the best way to fertilize and mulch your plantings all at once.

November - Let your garden stand all winter. No need to "clean your yard." Butterflies, bees and other native beneficial insects would love to hibernate among the leaves and stems. Plus, you may get visiting birds looking for dried seed heads.

December - Use reusable gift bags.