21 Eco-Friendly Things You Can Do for Mother's Day

In many parts of the world, Mother's Day falls in late spring, which is also a great time to get gardens planted. And whether she's a seasoned pro or new to gardening, she'll surely appreciate your help in the garden. This could mean anything from turning over the soil to transplanting seedlings, mulching, setting up an irrigation system, building raised beds or individual planters, direct seeding herbs and flowers, or working in fresh compost.

It's no secret that women love flowers, and moms are no exception. But those highly cultivated bouquets can come with a hefty price tag for the environment, and are often shipped from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. So this year, switch it up and either pick your own wildflower bouquet or find a local flower farm. Another option is to gift her a potted plant that will bloom for years to come.

Mother's Day brunch is one of the busiest days of the year for many restaurants, and is something many moms look forward to. This year, reduce the impact of your Mother's Day meal by trying a place that sources their ingredients locally. Or, play chef for the day and whip her up a delicious meal with all of the classics. Use ingredients that are in-season and/or sourced from local farms if you can. Homemade belgian waffles with strawberry compote and fresh whipped cream, anyone?

If your mom loves all things green, consider getting her a unique plant or two from the local garden center. Besides greening up her indoor space, studies have found that houseplants can improve indoor air quality, reduce stress, boost productivity, and even reduce recovery time after illness. Sounds like a great gift to us! Try to get something that won't require too much work (unless she really loves taking care of plants!).

Sometimes, the best gift is simply quality time spent together making memories or learning something new. Look into local offerings like paint n' sips, cooking classes, or outdoor concerts, or workshops and classes such as terrarium making, knitting, crocheting, yoga, or dance.

Because Mother Nature deserves a little love on Mother's Day, too! And gifting trees is a great way to celebrate everything your nature-loving mom or spouse does for you and your family. Like mothers, they provide shelter, nurture our roots, and give us room to grow.

Support your local herbalist and put together a beautiful basket filled with herbal beauty products such as bath salts and bombs, lotions and creams, facial cleansers and steams, toners and floral waters, soothing salves and balms, face masks, herbal cosmetics, and more! Moms spend most of their time putting everyone else first, so Mother's Day is a great excuse to make her put her feet up and devote a few hours (or more!) to some well-deserved self care!

If you're feeling crafty, build her a unique upcycled bird feeder so she can enjoy birdwatching for years to come! On Mother's Day, let her choose where to install it, make sure it's well out of reach of any bears, squirrels or other scavengers, and wait for the birds to move in! If she has mobility issues, get a window hummingbird feeder so she can safely watch from her favorite perch (no pun intended).

With warmer temperatures comes exploding tick populations and a growing prevalence of the the many diseases they spread. There are simple landscaping measures that you can take to make her yard safer for everyone. These include assembling tick cones and placing them around the edges of the property, creating a line of mulch or gravel around the perimeter of the yard, spraying grass with a naturally repellent essential oil blend, raking up and removing leaves, and trimming overgrown brush.

Maybe there's a door that sticks, a leaky faucet, paint that's peeling, gutters that should be cleared, a planter that needs to be moved — or maybe she just needs to install her window screens for the warmer months. Moms are incredibly resourceful, but there's likely something around the house she's been wanting to get done — and it will undoubtedly bring a smile to her face to be able to cross it off her list!

If she has the space, help her establish a mini wildflower meadow that is filled with beneficial plants for pollinators like borage, milkweed, butterfly bush, dandelion, coneflower, blue vervain, and more! Just do a little research (we recommend the xerces society) to find out what the best native plants are for pollinators in your area. She'll love watching the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds as they flit from flower to flower!

Help her reduce waste, and have a steady supply of nutritious fertilizer for her garden by building or setting up a compost. Depending on where she lives, this could be anything from a kitchen worm composter to an efficient electric one, a rotating bucket, or even a compost heap. Properly maintained compost provides rich and completely free fertilizer.

Whether you get fancy with a hydroponic herb growing system or keep it analog with a simple window herb garden, fresh culinary herbs are the gift that keeps on giving. From vibrant ingredients for home-cooked meals to soothing teas, natural medicines, fragrant aromas and even natural air purification, fresh herbs are sure to make her smile all year round!

You'll have to look into local regulations, but if it's okay to do so, building (or buying) mom a rain barrel and a simple irrigation system is a great way to help her take advantage of a natural resource (rainwater) and hopefully cut down on time spent watering her flowers and garden! In water-stressed areas, this can be especially helpful to reduce her water bill, conserve water and protect the environment. 

Support craftswomen around the world by gifting your mom a unique, fair-trade piece that she'll love all the more for knowing it helped support another mom somewhere. These days, fair-trade jewelry is carried everywhere from small local shops to online retailers like Ten Thousand Villages. But wherever you go, you can be sure your purchase will have a positive impact!

Wine and motherhood seem to go hand in hand — after all, sometimes she just needs something to help her unwind at the end of a long day. So head to your local market and select a few organic, biodynamic wines for her to try. You never know — you might end up finding her new favorite beverage!

Tea parties aren't just for kids! Pull together a selection of dainty foods such as a light spring salad, finger sandwiches, scones, quiche, cupcakes, and anything else you know she'd love, along with delicious loose-leaf tea (or fresh roasted coffee) to try. You'll be sipping and munching in no time!

If your mom loves yoga or just really needs to relax, look into yoga studios near you that offer outdoor yoga classes. These are a great way to unplug from the day to day, relax with gentle movement, and soak up some healing vibes from Mother Nature. 

If she loves to cook and regularly ends up with lots of delicious leftovers, this idea is for you. Help her keep food fresh and ditch single-use plastic with beeswax wraps, reusable bags, glass food storage containers, and more! This will keep her fridge more organized AND protect the planet from unnecessary plastic waste!

Giving photo books is a great way to share special memories, especially if you live far away — and it's sure to end up on her coffee table indefinitely! Today, there are tons of high quality, eco-friendly photo book options out there. Thanks to this abundance, there are options for budgets big and small — so you can make this as simple or as customized as you'd like!

Surprise her by signing both of you up to volunteer for a cause she loves. This could be anything from planting trees to walking dogs at a local shelter, cleaning up trash, serving food at a local soup kitchen, mentoring local kids, building a lending library, and more. She'll surely appreciate the time spent making a positive impact together!