Even though Earth Day is behind us, it’s not too late to put into practice the lessons it teaches us about protecting the environment and natural resources.

Environmentalists say those lessons are a reminder that small steps can lead to giant leaps.

Small gestures, including recycling and composting to reduce landfills, are things everyone can do that could have great impacts. 

You can also plant trees and start a garden, which will not only benefit the environment but also beautify your home. Helping the environment can have positive impacts on you and the world. 

Planting trees is an easy way to improve the environment and spruce up your yard. Trees filter air and water, reduce pollutants, increase stormwater infiltration and reduce flooding, said Will Leipold, Tucson Clean and Beautiful NeighborWoods program manager. 

It’s no secret that the Southern Arizona sun raises temperatures, especially in the summer, creating what scientists call the urban heat island. This is when higher daytime temperatures create heat that gets trapped on pavement and buildings.

Planting trees will increase shade canopy and cool your yard and the area, decreasing the urban heat island effect.

 Tucson Clean and Beautiful is a non-profit that supports Trees for Tucson, a program that plants trees in Tucson neighborhoods. These trees can be purchased and delivered to your property for no more than $40. It can even be free in certain lower-income neighborhoods. 

Within this program, you can chose from a wide variety of trees, ranging from the native desert ironwood to the velvet mesquite.

“Our native species are going to be the best adapted to deal with our climate,” said Leipold.

Native trees are recommended as they are heat and drought-tolerant and more likely to thrive. Some options are the screwbean mesquite and foothill palo verde. 

Leipold recommends planting trees no later than the end of April to improve their odds of survival. Time to get planting! 

When it comes to recycling, the 8-year-old LA company ByFusion has an idea that will reduce landfill capacity while contributing to the construction of eco-friendly structures.

ByFusion takes recycled plastic that would often end up in landfills, and it isn’t able to be reused, and creates building blocks called ByBlocks. ByFusion shreds, steams, and pressurizes the plastic to create blocks similar to cinder or concrete blocks used for construction, said Tom Hennessy, operations manager of ByFusion

You can still recycle with ByFusion through different programs. Pima County offers an orange bag program. County members can buy Hefty ReNew Orange Trash Bags that can be filled with hard-to-recycle plastics. These bags can be dropped off around Pima County and are then distributed to ByFusion recycling centers. 

If you don’t live in Tucson, ByFusion has programs that allow you to send recycling directly to their recycling facilities. 

There are other smaller ways to aid the environment and help make steps to a more sustainable future. 

• Try growing a garden. Growing your own food, in a garden or a small kit in your kitchen, can have great effects on the environment. It not only gives you fresh produce it also helps reduce the resources used in agriculture worldwide. Food production is connected to water use, transportation, and energy use, which we need to be mindful of, said Joaquin Ruiz, director of Biosphere 2. 

For gardens, Ruiz recommends planting your crops in the shade. There is so much sun in Arizona that the garden doesn’t need that much, said Ruiz. It will decrease the water use by about 50%. 

• Compost, don’t trash: Composting is not only great for reducing landfills but also for turning organic materials into fertilizer that can be used to bring nutrients back to your soil. 

Conservation is important in everything we do. In the fight for the environment, food, water and energy are three of the most important areas to focus on. We need to be aware of our use, how to reduce our use, and live a more sustainable life, says Ruiz.