Every Drop Counts

We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.

– Jacques Cousteau

This week finds me in San Diego taking care of the grand puppies and digging into the beauty of this coastal area. I feel deep gratitude to spend time here and pay homage to the gifts of the California coastline.

Coming up on Wednesday, April 22nd we once again celebrate Earth Day. The theme for this 56th Earth Day is Our Power, Our Planet.

Here is a little trivia…Did you know that the first Earth Day back in 1970 came to be partly because of a massive oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California in January of 1969? Sadly, millions of gallons of oil were released into the Santa Barbara channel, devastating the area.

The following summer a Senator from Ohio, Gaylord Nelson, visited the distressed region and was deeply impressed how the community had rallied to clean up the mess. Using the idea of teach-ins that were happening on college campuses, the idea of a day honoring and educating around the needs of the Earth came to life.

Arbor Day, 1970 was decided as the day Earth Day would happen and here we are, 56 years later with the idea still alive about how important it remains to bring awareness around the needs of our planet. The importance in honoring this place we all get to call home.

Water is one of the natural resources we count on to make life on this planet work. This precious resource is top of mind right now in Colorado and several other western states as we are experiencing one of the lowest snowpack winters in recorded history.

This week’s video focuses on the idea of looking at your irrigation and watering systems to insure they are running efficiently. I am sharing some perspective from California and my husband Ed, my CIO (Chief Irrigation Officer) is talking about how we just had to readjust our irrigation because of the shift in the weather.

The question becomes what each of us can do to conserve the valuable resources that will allow our planet to thrive not only for our lifetime but for generations to come? How can we conserve water this year?

Perhaps create less lawns, better watering methods, understanding local water supplies? Looking towards planting native drought tolerant plants?

How will each of us honor the Earth in the year ahead?

Each of us individually and together can make a difference.

Happy Earth Day 2026.

Plant often and with Love!

Cheri

Cheri Ruskus

Author and Founder of Grow You Girl