The planet gets a much-deserved breather this weekend as Earth Hour 2021 will be held on the 27th of March from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. This annual event, which started in 2007, is held every last Saturday of March. The campaign is normally commemorated by turning off the lights for one hour as a symbol of human’s commitment to the planet. It has since evolved into something more as people around the world hold different Earth Hour activities to help the planet and have fun while at it. The event has also progressed into a more-than-an-hour event as friends and families plan different activities to do during Earth Hour weekend.
Indoor Earth Hour Activities
Turn the Lights Off
The simplest and most common thing to do to commemorate Earth Hour is to switch off all non-essential lights. You can even turn electrical devices off except appliances like refrigerators or freezers. You might also want to leave one light on outside just to be safe from intruders. If you want to turn that one off as well, just make sure all your doors and windows are locked.
Prepare flashlights, headlamps, lanterns or candles. You still need light to see what’s going on. Once Earth Hour is over, turn the lights outside and check first if there are strangers on your property before going out or opening the windows.
Invest on a BioLite SolarHome 620 Kit so you don’t have to worry about lighting your property during Earth Hour or when power goes out. It is an affordable solar power system that includes a 6-watt waterproof solar panel, a motion sensor light, 2 hanging lights, 3 on/off switches, and a centralized control box.
The BioLite SolarHome 620 needs only 6 hours under direct sunlight to be fully charged. One full charge can provide 4.5 to 14 hours of light and radio or MP3 music. You can even use it to charge your electrical devices. Best of all, the motion sensor security light lets you know if an intruder is nearby giving you enough time to hide or call for help.
Have a Candlelight Dinner
Earth Hour will be from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm. You can have your dinner at this hour so you can enjoy it with some candles. Since, the purpose of this event is to help care for the planet, how about preparing an Earth-friendly meal for the family.
As for the candles, you could the Emergency Candles 5-Pack from Survival Frog a try. They’re different from the typical wax candles. They can be lit up even in wet conditions and will burn for up to 5 hours. The non-toxic candles certainly deserve some space in your emergency supplies.
Enjoy Game Night
Earth Hour is perfect for spending some quality time with the family. Switch the TV off and hide the phones and other gadgets. It’s time for the whole gang to enjoy game night. Take out your favorite board games like Scrabble or Monopoly. One hour should be long enough to enjoy a game. Don’t forget the snacks and drinks!
Play with Shadows
How about some Earth Hour activities that will take you back to your childhood? With the lights out, you can have fun playing with shadows. Take advantage of the situation and practice your making shadow puppets with your hands. This is a good skill to have when you have small children to entertain all the time.
Take things to another level by doing a shadow play. You can choose a popular children’s story (or make your own) and make cut-out figures from the characters. Do the cut-outs and other props beforehand and maybe do a bit of practice so you’re good to go once earth Hour strikes.
You can’t do shadows without a good source of light. The Pocket Light 2.0 Collapsible Solar Lantern provides about 63 lumens of light in high setting for up to 15 hours on a full charge. It comes with a 4.8V solar panel so you can garner the power of the sun. Since the Pocket Light is collapsible, you can pack it with the rest of your camping gear or everyday carry kit.
Do a Movie Night
Okay so you’ll be using your TV for this one but watching with the lights switched off is a nice and cozy experience. Choose a family movie if you already have kids. If you don’t, you can enjoy a more adult rated film with your significant other.
Read a Book
I know what you’re thinking, “How can I read a book with the lights off?” There are such things as rechargeable lanterns and headlamps, you know. You can even use a candle or oil lamp to experience how our forefathers spent their nights.
Some people prefer a headlamp for reading over a desk lamp or the light in the room. If you plan on including reading in your list of Earth Hour activities, you can use a Foxelli USB Rechargeable Headlamp. This 2.4-ounce headlamp comes with a 30 Lumen red light, which is great for reading since it helps preserve your night vision. The white light is not blinding and the body can be tilted to 60 degrees. The IPX5 waterproof headlamp is a good light source for camping, power outages, or for reading.
The BioLite Ultra-Thin HeadLamp 330 also comes with red light for your reading pleasure at night. It’s also ultra-thin and lightweight at 2.4 ounces giving you a more comfortable reading experience. Of course, the BioLite headlamp is great for outdoor use thanks to its 330 Lumen white flood and spot lights.
Outdoor Earth Hour Activities
Hang Out
Remember the nights when you would just sit on the hood of your car with your sweetheart and stare at the sky? Radio playing beautiful music, beer in your hand, and the two of you talking about anything and everything. Those were the days, right?
Relive those days even for an hour by just hanging out as the world goes dark for a while. You can plop down on the garden chairs or spread a blanket on the grass and just stare at the moon and the stars. I’m getting giddy just thinking about this. Of course, if you don’t have a significant other you can still hang out and think about your life while celebrating Earth Hour.
Stargazing
It’s nice and romantic enough to just sit back and look up at the stars. But if you’re looking for Earth Hour activities that will make your kids realize how vast the universe is, then you could use an astronomical telescope.
The Celestron Travel Scope 70mm Refractor Telescope will help you introduce your children to space science. The Celestron telescope is nowhere near what the James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope can do. However it is capable of up to 168x power magnification, which is good enough to enjoy stargazing from your home.
Stargazing with a telescope will give your kids a clear idea how small our planet is and that we should do everything in our power to save it. This is one lesson everyone should be reminded not only during Earth Hour but every day of our lives.
Set Up an Outdoor Cinema
It’s like movie night but you’re doing it in your backyard. Since you’ll be outdoors, you can’t use your TV screen. Either use a laptop or set up your very own backyard cinema. You’ll need a projector, projector screen or white sheet (white wall will also work), speakers, and your laptop containing the movie you’ll be watching.
For your projector, you can use something like the Epson Home Cinema 880 1080p 3LCD Projector. It boasts of 1080p HD resolution and 3,300 lumens of color for a vibrant viewing experience. It also has a built-in speaker so you may not need additional ones.
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Make your outdoor cinema experience more comfortable by setting up blankets and cushions on the ground or patio. Of course, you’ll want to munch on some snacks so prepare something before you have to with the lights off.
Backyard Camping
Do you miss camping out? It may have been a while since you were in the great outdoors because of the pandemic. Backyard camping is one Earth Hour activity that can quench your thirst for an outdoor adventure even for just a little bit.
Spend the whole Earth Hour weekend camping in your backyard. There are still some activities you’d normally do at camp that you can do at home. You can go stargazing, tell stories, play the guitar and sing songs, and enjoy a few drinks.
You can play some card games, too. The Survival Tips Playing Cards by Frog & CO is a must-have for any outdoor enthusiast. Aside from having something to do to while away the time, you can also learn survival tips from this deck of cards. Each card contains a certain emergency situation and tips on how you can survive said scenario.
Of course, you’ll need a good light source to see your cards. The Luci Original Inflatable Solar Light uses 10 cool white LED bulbs to provide 75 lumens of ambient light. That should be bright enough to use in your tent. It also features 4 light modes including a 1-sec flashing light. The 1000 mAh Lithium-ion battery can last a full day on a full charge. It takes only 7 hours of direct sunlight to be fully charged.
Campfire Cooking
Since you’re already considering camping as one of your Earth Hour activities, why not complete the experience by building a campfire. Of course, this requires a lot of safety precautions.
If you live in a crowded neighborhood, campfire cooking would be a no-go. You don’t want angry neighbors complaining about the smoke. If your home is quite isolated, you can do anything you want.
There’s the option of using smokeless cookers if you still want to cook something during Earth Hour weekend. The GoSun Solar Kitchen includes the Fusion Hybrid Solar Oven, which can cook using electricity and the power of the sun. The GoSun Fusion can be used day or night. It’s a good thing to have at home in case of power failures. You can also take it on picnics, camping trips, and road trips.
The GoSun Solar Kitchen also includes the Chill Solar Cooler and SolarTable 60. The Chill keeps your drinks cold even without ice. It’s powered by both electricity and solar power. The SolarTable 60 is the “most powerful solar charger” in the GoSun stable. You can use it to charge your solar coven even at night so you can enjoy hot meals during Earth Hour.
The Earth Hour activities listed here are quite simple enough for the family to enjoy. In fact, you can do more than one in this list since you’ll be celebrating the event the whole weekend. As such, you can think of other Earth Hour activities the whole family can safely enjoy at home. Gentleman Pirate Club is not just about taking care of oneself. We also encourage everyone to do their part in taking care of Mother Earth, especially since she’s the only one we got.
